Titans: Rise
by Commander BatPope
Summary: In a world where meta-human's are captured, and sold into slavery and combat, five strangers must band together to fight back, and gain their freedom.
1. Prologue

No-one really knows how meta-humans came to be.

Some say it was science.

_A young man sat in his swivel chair, staring solemnly at the syringe in his hand. He ran a hand through his sandy-blonde hair, and sighed. He knew what he had created, he just didn't know exactly what it was. Whatever was in that syringe could either kill him, or do something extraordinary. He had to find out some way.  
_

_After rolling the left sleeve of his lab-coat, the man carefully pointed the syringe into his arm, gently inserting it and pushing the needle further into his skin as the red liquid inside entered his body. Once the liquid was completely gone, he retracted the syringe, placing it back on his desk.  
_

_He waited for something to happen as the chemical began to take effect. So far, nothi- wait. Something was happening. A horrible pain was just shooting through his entire body, like he was being electrocuted. The man clutched his head in both hands, falling out of his chair and onto both knees on the floor.  
_

_The man grunted in pain, trying desperately not to scream. But the pain was too much, and he let out an agonizing scream as his eyes began to glow red with electricity, and his hands engulfed in lightning of the same color, shooting out across both sides of the laboratory.  
_

_In a single moment, the facility was obliterated in a flash of lightning, the only remaining, was ash. Ash, and the man. The man standing at the center of a crater, his eyes and hands engulfed in lightning, letting out a terrifying scream to the heavens. Whether he was cursing them, or thanking them, even he didn't know.  
_

Some say people are born with them.

_A young couple looked on in a mix of awe, and shock. The woman had given birth some time ago, and was happy to hear it was girl. However, once the doctor saw what the daughter looked like, he was hesitant to give her to the mother. The woman persisted, and the doctor eventually gave her her baby._

_Once she finally saw her baby's eyes, she realized why the doctor didn't want to comply. The baby's eyes were glowing, not as in filled with happiness. No, they were actually glowing, like rays from the sun. The mother and father stared at their newborn in awe, and shock. How could this have happened?  
_

Some say people learn of their powers over time.

_A teenage girl and her group of friends were walking around the mall, just minding their own business. The raven-haired beauty and her friends were about to make her way into a clothing store, when someone stepped in front of them. He looked to be the typical poser; white tank-top, gold necklace, baggy jeans, Jordan sneakers, and not to forget the most important feature of posing, white._

_The girl could only roll her eyes at the sight of this wannabe gangster. She didn't have time for this. She tried stepping aside, but the wannabe kept stepping in front of her. Ok, now she was getting pissed. The final straw was when the wannabe stepped right up to her, and began talking about how he'd take her out, in the most degrading way a poser can.  
_

_The girl was having none of it, and decided to push the poser away. But that didn't happen. She only meant to push the poser to the ground. Instead, the poser went flying back, crashing through the window of the clothing store, breaking all the mannequins posing there into pieces.  
_

_Everyone stared in shock and awe, especially the girl. How did she do that?  
_

There have been many theories over the years about the rise of meta-humans, as well as many arguments. Some people said they were a gift, a blessing. That they were here to protect the world from evil and make it a better place.

Not everyone agreed.

They said these meta-humans were freaks. A curse. That they were given powers to destroy the world and humanity so that they could rule.

Debates raged for months about the fate of meta-humans. Some believed they should be free. Some believed they should be put to death. It wasn't until the government finally quit, and came with a decision.

Capture all meta-humans.

And in super secret government fashion, they hired an army of specially trained soldiers as part of a secret organization to find and imprison meta-humans. The Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Eliminations.

Also known as, the H.I.V.E.

They combed the streets of every city, in every country, in search of every meta-human. They searched every house. Every alley. Every school. No matter where they went, the H.I.V.E. would always find them. They never killed them, that was the H.I.V.E.'s number 1 rule: do not kill. And they headed their instructions.

That is, until one meta-human fought back.

The resulting attack led him to be shot, and ultimately, killed. The news sent shockwaves throughout the world. Those who resented meta-human's thought it was just.

The meta-human's, however, saw it as an act of cruelty. They too, began to attack the H.I.V.E. They wanted to fight for their freedom, for their lives. They weren't going to let these monsters take them away.

They would fight, or they would die.


	2. Captured

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I was very happy to see the reviews for the first chapter, and the story alerts as well!

For the Reviews, thank you _SailorSea, anon, Tterit, Egyptiandude990, Paintersmurffan1, and H'sfreedom_.

For the Story Alerts, thank you again _SailorSea, Tterit, Egyptiandude990, and H'rsfreedom, as well as fantasymoon1, Victory4Zim, and KenaBeliever._

And thank you to _Babigurlswagger _and _Katwizzle_ for adding it to your favorite stories list.

Oh, and don't worry _Katwizzle_, I plan to have BB/Rae on here, as well as Rob/Star(my favorite) and Cy/OC or Cy/BumbleBee, I don't know yet, but Cyborg needs love damn it!

I hope you all continue to enjoy my story.

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Thunder roared through the night sky with a crack of lightning. No rain was visible yet. The only thing visible was the spotlight shining down from above, the sound of propellers spinning from the ducted fans of the gunship let most meta's know that the H.I.V.E. was out there.

There were many soldiers, as well. Armed to teeth in weaponry, vehicles, and armor. They usually wore the standard, yellow full-body armor and helmet. The chest-plate held the H.I.V.E. insignia at the center, a black hexagon with a white H in the middle. Their helmets sealed their entire face, save for the two eye lenses. They usually carry around weapons such as pistols, shotguns, sniper rifles, and assault rifles.

The soldiers all marched across the streets in formation, in groups of 15. They really didn't want these meta's to escape. They would barge into nearby houses or buildings and search there for any signs of meta-human's.

A team of two did this same thing. A kick to the door, and it flew open. The two H.I.V.E. soldiers entered the house, flashlights, and assault rifles, at the ready. They passed the main hallway, and split up, one went into the living room, the other in the kitchen.

They searched behind couches and fridges, inside fireplaces and laundry rooms. The one in the living room found a staircase and went to search up there. Once he reached the top, he surveyed his surroundings. Three rooms, one on the left side of the house, another at the center, and another at the right.

The soldier slowly sauntered towards the center door. Once he was close enough, he wasted no time in kicking it down. He raised his weapon and saw what he opened. Just a bathroom with an open curtain.

He turned his attention to the door at the right, this time just storming and kicking the other door down. He found himself in, what appeared to be, the parents room. There was a king sized bed topped with messy red velvet sheets. A wooden dresser set up against the wall in front of it with a large mirror on top. A window and a full-length closet, which was empty by the way, were set apart from each other on both sides of the room.

The soldier peeked out from behind his shoulder once he heard footsteps behind him. It was his comrade. He ordered his partner to search the room across from him by pointing.

The second soldier complied, and kicked open the door to the last room. It was a kid's room, it seemed. A small bed with ocean blue sheets pressed against the wall with a window stationed above it, closed. An entertainment center set in the corner in front of the bed, with a TV on top of it. A nightstand set at the center wall right next to the bed, and a full-length closet across the room, empty as well.

"There's nothing here." said the second soldier, messaging his comrade.

"Nothing here, too." the first soldier replied. He sighed, "Well, looks like this house is empty. Come on, let's regroup back with the team."

With that, the two soldiers made their way downstairs, unaware that they had actually missed something. Something small, easily missed to the pair of eyes that searched the premises before. Inside the small vent stationed right next to the kid's bedroom doorway, was a spider.

Only, it was green.

The tiny arachnid crawled it's way out of the vent. Once it heard the door slam shut, the spider began to grow. Not into a giant spider, but into a human. A boy, green of skin and hair and pointed ears, let out a sigh of relief and smiled, a single fang peeking out from his lower jaw.

His clothes looked as though they came from a hand-me-down shop, ragged and wrinkled. A pair of black and gray sneakers to go with the black pants and jacket with magenta stripe and piping on the sleeves. He was also wearing a pair of black and gray motocross gloves that he thought looked pretty cool when he found them.

But there was no time for fashion-talk now, he had to get out and find someone, anyone, willing to help him. The boy carefully tip-toed down the staircase. Each step made a creaking sound, having the boy wince in fear of someone hearing him. With every step and every creak, he slowly made his way downstairs and into the living room. He checked to see if the coast was clear.

It was, good.

With that, he ran to the door, hope rising that he would make it out alive. But, that was not meant to be, unfortunately.

The moment the boy opened the door to the outside, he received pain in the form of a fist colliding with his face. The boy stumbled back, shaking his head to get his mind set. His eyes were met with two H.I.V.E. soldiers, no doubt the ones from before.

"Open fire!" shouted the soldier on the left.

The duo fired their weapons, and the boy screamed in terror, quickly transforming himself into another animal. This time, a gorilla. The green ape roared as the soldiers ceased fire, no doubt staring in horror at the primate before them.

It took only a moment for things to escalate quick. The two soldiers were sent crashing through the full-scale window from the living room to the streets outside.

The gorilla climbed out from the broken windowsill to the streets, his eyes locked on a soldier trying to crawl away. The soldier didn't get very far, as he was pulled by his leg, and in one swift, violent motion, lifted the soldier over his head and slammed him to ground.

The gorilla roared and pounded his chest in victory. But it was to be short-lived, as he heard multiple guns cock, turning his attention to the squadron of H.I.V.E. soldiers standing across from him just a few feet away. As if that wasn't enough, a spotlight was now shining on him.

"Attention! Attention! You are under arrest!" a voice spoke into a loudspeaker from the helm of the gunship.

The boy transformed into his human form to speak, "For what?!" he shouted, "For being myself?!"

"No. For being a freak! Get him!"

The soldiers immediately opened fire, and the boy immediately transformed to that of a cheetah. With his lightning speed, he managed to dodge most of the lasers, and pounce on the nearest soldier. Quickly transforming into a gorilla again, he began to swat away the soldiers.

Every which way, the soldiers were sent flying. One soldier actually tried jumping onto his back, only to be pulled off and thrown into a group of three other soldiers. Once done, the gorilla surveyed his surroundings. Soldiers lying everywhere around, all except one, who was trying to crawl away on one arm. He was having none of that.

The gorilla knuckle-walked his way to the crawling soldier. Placing his giant hand on the man's arm, he flipped him over onto his back. That was a mistake. The second the soldier lied on his back, he fired a weapon. The weapon caused the boy to change back to human as electricity surged through his body, screaming in pain for a few moments, until he lied on the ground unconscious.

The soldier picked himself up from the ground, and looked at the fallen boy before him. As far as he knew, he didn't care what happened to this boy, he just wanted him gone. He decided to radio his capture, placing two fingers on the side of his helmet, where his built-in earpiece lied.

"Command, this is Delta. We have confirmation of another captured meta."

* * *

Heavy footsteps stormed through the streets as the large, dark-skinned male ran as fast as he could. He was breathing heavily. He had been running for quite some time, but for good reason. He needed to get away from the squadron of soldiers tailing him.

He was hoping they wouldn't be able to tell he was a meta, clad in a pair of navy blue sweats and a gray hoodie. Yeah, a lot of good that did him. If it wasn't for his damn cybernetic eye, he would probably be safe right now!

He skidded to a stop. Great, more of them.

"Stop right where you are! We have you surrounded!"

The teen looked and saw what the soldier said was true. Everywhere, there were H.I.V.E. soldiers ready to fire.

Well, this was just perfect.

He knew he couldn't take them all on his own. So, rather than try and fight his way out, he raised his arms in surrender. He was outmatched, and all he had was just the one cybernetic eye. What could that do? Nothing.

A soldier walked towards the teen, careful not to put his gun down. He wasn't about to let this freak get the better of him.

"You're coming with us." he said, taking out a pair of yellow-dimmed laser hand-cuffs from his side. Truth be told, he was actually surprised for the cooperation. No punches thrown, no laser blasts. Sure, there was the running, but that wasn't too big a deal. At least he was finally going to cuff this stupid meta...

Unless a sudden kick to the chest sent him flying back into his squadron, which is exactly what happened.

"Open fire!" one soldier shouted.

Laser blasts rained upon the hooded teen, creating a cloud of smoke that shielded their sight from the target.

"Cease fire!" he shouted once more, and they complied.

They waited for the smoke to clear, and expected to see a meta lying on his back. They were mistaken. From the smoke, rose a cybernetic being, built like a tank. White and silver armor mixed with blue circuitry on the shoulders and arms, as well as his bald head, where the left half of his face was cybernetic.

"Fire at will!" the soldier shouted again, only to be instantly taken out with a single punch to the face that managed to crack his helmet.

The cybernetic continued his assault with a fury of punches to any soldier closest to him. He even used two of them as human-shields to block the oncoming blasts from the rest of the surrounding squadron. Once they ceased fire, he threw the two worthless soldiers at them, bringing down only a few.

It was then he heard heavy footsteps. The cybernetic turned around, and saw something he never expected to see.

A mech.

It was large, and unmanned. No-one was controlling it, it was walking on itself. It looked like a larger, robotic version of of the soldiers themselves, in the same color, too. Only instead of their heads looking like the helmets, it was cylindrical, with a yellow hexagon outline as some sort of targeting mechanism.

The cybernetic had no fear of this thing. It didn't matter how big or strong it was, they would all go down. With a roar, he charged at the mechanical giant, determination in his eyes. Without thinking, he jumped, fist clenched, ready to take this machine down.

Only, the mech had other plans. With it's right arm opened, a rapid beeping sounded. It would only take a few seconds before the arm blasted something out of it that left a smoke trail as it drew closer and closer to the cybernetic teen, who had no time to react.

The missile made direct contact, creating a ball of fire and smoke hovering in mid-air. Something, then, dropped to the ground, smoking. The lifeless body of the teen lied there as the rest of the soldiers ran over to check up on it. He was no longer shining and blue. His entire body was coated with black, damage taken from the missile.

"You think we can salvage him for the Headmaster?" asked one soldier as the leader knelt down before the teen to inspect him. He didn't appear to be damaged too bad, he just needed a reboot it looked like. Perfect.

"Yeah, I think he'll be very pleased to hear about this."

* * *

A young, red-headed woman found herself backed into a corner, too afraid to do anything against the five armed men in front of her. She didn't want to go with them, but she didn't want to hurt them, either.

"We are authorized to take you into custody, ma'am. If you don't comply, we have to take you in by force."

The soldier who gave the warning walked towards the young woman and roughly grabbed her wrist, making her scream. She hoped someone heard her.

"Let her go." a voice spoke from the end of the alley. All eyes averted to the silhouette of a male teenager, spiked jet-black hair, wearing a black business suit, it looked like.

"Well, well, well." said the soldier, turning his attention away from the girl, "Look who we have here, boys. A hero. How cute."

The boy wasn't phased by this guy's mocking. "You stay away from her, or else."

The soldiers could only laugh at the 'threat.' The one who spoke before casually walked over to the boy, standing right in front of him.

"Or else, what?" he asked.

He immediately got an answer. A single punch to the chin was enough to bring the man down on his back. The four other soldiers looked on in shock, and had no time to react as the boy continued his assault in near perfect fashion.

The girl looked on amazement as the boy took down the soldier at the left end with a spin-kick to the face, followed by a trio of kicks to the legs, chest and face of the next soldier before landing another spin-kick to his chest. The third soldier tried to aim his weapon, but the boy was quick, and kicked it out of his hands. The boy landed a flurry of punches to his mid-section before landing one final uppercut to send him stumbling back and crashing against his final comrade against the wall, leaving them lying.

The boy surveyed his work, and was impressed. But now, the girl.

"Are you ok?" he asked, quickly running to check up on her. What happened next completely took him by surprise.

She kissed him.

It was a sweet kiss. Arms wrapped around his neck, lips smacked against his. It actually felt... nice. It was to be short-lived, though. But not without thanks.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!" the girl said with joy, hugging the boy who saved her life, who was still reeling from that kiss.

"Uh... you're welcome. I'm h-happy to help."

She separated herself, "My name is Kori. Kori Anders."

Kori Anders. He let the name linger in his mind for a bit. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. And she was beautiful. Golden, flawless skin. Red, auburn hair. A pair of white sneakers, light-blue skinny jeans, and a pink halter-top. But that was nothing compared to her eyes. They were gorgeous! They shined like jade diamond's, giving off a sort of kind innocence about her. He couldn't help but stare and get lost in them, until he snapped himself back to reality.

"Um... Richard. Richard Grayson. What are you doing here, anyway?"

Kori wasn't paying attention after he introduced himself. She, too, had gotten lost in his eyes. Like a deep ocean blue. However, her marveling would be cut short. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. It was a soldier Richard had taken out.

And he had a gun!

"Look out!" she exclaimed. She pushed Richard out of the way, and did something else he never expected. Her left hand glowed green, like her eyes. She swung her arm, and an energy orb flew and destroyed the H.I.V.E. soldier's gun, as well as his hand.

"We must hurry!" Kori said urgently, taking Richard's hand in his, and again, did something he never expected.

She began to fly.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Richard exclaimed. He couldn't believe it, he was flying! Sure, someone was carrying him by his arms, but still, he was actually flying! Wait...

Energy orbs? The power to fly? Does that mean...?

"Kori! You're a meta-human?"

She wasn't able to answer. As soon as those words left Richard, they both screamed out in pain as a single laser blast, seemingly from nowhere, struck them both. Electricity coursed through their bodies before going limp, and plummeting to the streets below.

A single H.I.V.E. soldier knelt on the edge of a rooftop, a large laser rifle in his hands.

"Command, target is down." he spoke into his earpiece.

Richard could feel himself failing fast, his body ached all over. He caught sight of Kori, lying motionless next to him. He needed to wake her up, they needed to get out of here, but he was in too much pain to move. He could try, as painful as it was, to grasp her hand in his, and call her name.

"Kori." he whispered.

Then everything went black.


	3. The Arena

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I'm happy to see everyone enjoying my story, thank you very much!

Now, just so you know, I did have a reason for not having Raven in the last chapter. And you are going to find out in the next chapter! I promise!

Hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Everything was hazy. Nothing was clear to see except for a few blotches. Richard's head felt like it had gotten hit with a 2x4. A few moments later, his head began to clear, and could hear someone saying his name.

"Richard? Richard, are you ok?"

It was Kori, she was safe. Thank God.

Richard groaned as he sat up, "I think so. Are you?"

Kori nodded, "I am fine. Thank you."

It was then Richard realized that they weren't in the city. Instead, it looked like they were in a large armored truck. He could feel the truck moving, which bothered him.

"Where are we going?"

"Who knows." a voice spoke, turning both Richard's and Kori's attention to the dark-skinned cyborg sitting at the end of the truck across the double doors with his arms resting on his knees.

"Nobody really knows where they take meta-human's." he added.

"I heard they capture you, and then throw you into an incinerator, so you burn to death!" said the boy with green skin.

"That's just a rumor." the cyborg replied.

"How do you know? It could be true!"

"Who are you guys, anyway?" Richard asked.

"Victor Stone." said the cyborg.

"Garfield Logan." said the green-skinned boy. "But you can just call me Gar."

Kori smiled, "It is nice to meet you both. My name is Kori Anders."

"Please to meet you, little lady." Victor replied with a smile. "I'd shake your hand, but..." he raised his hands, where they could see he was clasped with laser-cuffs. The others looked at their hands and saw they were cuffed, too.

"It's nice to meet you, Kori." Gar replied as well. "Who's your friend?"

"My name's Richard Grayson."

Both Victor and Gar's eyes widened.

"Wait, 'Richard Grayson'?" Victor repeated the name. "As in, _the_ Richard Grayson? As in, son of big-time billionaire, Bruce Wayne?"

"That's the one." Richard said, with the tiniest hint of a smirk.

"Dude!" Gar exclaimed. "What are you doing here? You're not a meta!" a thought then just occurred to him, "Wait... you aren't a meta, right?"

Richard chuckled, "No, Gar. I'm not a meta. Just a simple human. I was rescuing Kori from a squad of H.I.V.E. soldier's. I thought I had taken them all out, but I was wrong. Luckily, Kori here," he pointed to her, "Saved my life with a few surprises. We were on our way out of here, when we were hit with some kind of laser that knocked us out. And now we're here."

"How did you get captured by the H.I.V.E.?" Kori asked.

Victor went first, "I was running, until I got surrounded. I decided to fight back, and thought I was gonna make it. That's when the mech showed up. Of course, me being the over-confident guy I am, I thought I could take it. That's when it fired a missile and crashed my systems. The H.I.V.E. rebooted me, only after they cuffed me and stuffed me in here."

Then Gar, "I was hiding from the H.I.V.E. I though I was gonna make, but it turns out, they were waiting for me. I tried to fight back, only I got tazed, and wound up in here."

"I am truly sorry, friends." Kori sympathized, lacing her hands together.

"It's ok, Kori." Victor assured her. "So, why don't you tell us what you're here for?"

Kori hesitated, and looked to Richard for guidance. He smiled and nodded, telling her it was okay.

"Well, I am originally not from here. I am from the Island's of Tamaran. It was a beautiful place... once. The H.I.V.E. attacked our homes, and killed my family." she bowed her head, trying to block tears from the boys eyes. "I came to Jump City in hopes the H.I.V.E. would not find me. I was wrong."

"Why were they after you?" Gar wondered. Kori regained her composure, and replied as best she could.

"I am a meta. I have powers. I am able to shoot energy orbs, or starbolts. I, also, have the ability to fly, and I have super-strength."

Victor whistled.

"Nice." Gar said with a smile. Kori could only smile back.

"Thank you, friends. What about you? What powers do you possess?"

"I can change into animals." Gar replied.

"And I have super-strength, as well as built-in cybernetics that help me scan, hack and fight." Victor added.

"How did you become a cyborg anyway, Victor?" Richard wondered.

Victor sighed, this wasn't an east subject for him to discuss, especially with people he just met. He never really cared for his cybernetics, and the fact that H.I.V.E. didn't like them either, didn't help. But as long as the question was just hanging, he might as well answer it.

"My parents were scientists. They worked in S.T.A.R. Labs and were trying to figure out a way to enhance the human body with augmentations. Unfortunately, there was an accident. My mother was dead, and I was injured. Bad. My father, in order to save my life, replaced whatever parts of me that were broken with the cybernetics. He thought he was doing me good..." he bowed his head, "I thought he was a monster. So, I ran away. That's when the H.I.V.E. showed up."

They all were in shock. How could Victor have survived something that caused most of his body to break? How could his own father use him as a test subject?

"I am sorry that happened to you, Victor." Kori apologized.

Victor nodded, "It's okay, Kori." changing the subject, he looked to Gar, "So, how about you, little dude? What's your story?"

Gar's cheerful disposition quickly changed to somber. Like Victory, his story was a touchy subject. But he had to tell it someday, and he felt good about these guys. He thought they were cool.

"Well, I was born and raised in Africa. My parents were studying this rare green monkey, and searched every inch of the jungles to find it. They did, but... I was bit. I was sick, and my parents were frantically trying to find a cure. They did, and it worked. But it also gave me my powers, and changed my appearance."

"I was wondering why you looked like an elf." Victory joked, but found Gar didn't appreciate it.

"Anyway... my parents later died in a boating accident." that wiped the smirk off Victor's face. "And I was an orphan. Thankfully, I was adopted and brought to Jump City. Only, it didn't last long. My foster parents were killed by the H.I.V.E., and then tried to capture me. You know the rest."

"Hey, man. I'm sorry about the 'elf' thing." Victor apologized.

Gar nodded and smiled, "It ok. No problem." now it was tie for him to change the subject, leaving Richard the only one left. "So, Mr. Big-Bucks, Jr. What's your story?"

Deciding not to dwell on the 'Big-Bucks Jr.' comment, Richard was also vague on his story.

"I'd rather not. The only thing you need to know about me is what you already know. I'm the son of Bruce Wayne. I'm the heir to his enterprise, and I stand against the H.I.V.E., which is what led me to Kori, which is what led me here."

"Thanks for that." Victor grumbled, receiving a death-glare from Richard.

"Richard, why do you not wish to..." Kori's question was interrupted once the truck stopped, causing the teens to fall flat on their sides.

"You think they're letting us go?" Gar asked, rubbing his head as he sat up.

It was then, the doors opened up, revealing a trio of H.I.V.E. soldiers.

"Get out." the one in the middle spoke rudely. The four teens complied, and stepped out of the truck, shocked at first that it was now dawn, and the sun was beginning to rise, giving the sky a light blue color while the sun's rays shined through the storm clouds that were now beginning to fade. It may have looked spectacular to behold, but that was nothing compared to what they saw next.

The sight they beheld stepping out of the truck made the four teens gape in awe.

It was an arena, built exactly like the Roman Colosseum. Only, instead of rock and stone, it was made of steel, and colored in the form of a bee-hive, a mix of black and yellow. Yellow banners hung over every arch, marked with the H.I.V.E. sign at the center.

It was a marvel to behold. The sheer size of it was enough to freeze anybody in their tracks. If it were any bigger, it would probably circle the entire city, whichever city this was.

"Keep moving!" anther shout from a soldier brought everyone back to reality, and began sauntering towards the entrance. That is, until one of them grabbed Kori by the arm.

"Not you." the soldier roughly dragged Kori away from the group, which didn't go unnoticed by an angry Richard.

"Kori!" he tried to run for her, but a sudden punch to the stomach from another H.I.V.E. soldier stopped him.

"Richard!" Kori cried out for her friend as she continued to try and run from the soldier dragging her away.

Richard could only watch in anger as Kori was being taken away from him. He wanted to run after her, he wanted to help her. But the two soldiers pointing guns at him and pushing him back into line put that to no avail.

"Now get in there!" another soldier shouted.

The three boys entered the Colosseum through a dark hallway, the only source of light being the arc of sunlight shining at the end, like the light at the end of the tunnel. They could hear something getting louder and louder as they drew nearer to the exit. It sounded like... a crowd. A cheering crowd.

They finally made it to the exit, and the sight was nothing but amazing. Millions upon millions of people surrounded the three boys, cheering and booing. It was like getting ready for a big game, and everyone is just excited to see it. It took the boys a moment to let the whole thing sink in.

"Dude..." was the only thing Gar could think of to say.

"So this is where they put meta-human's." Victor deduced. You could say he was thankful Gar was wrong about the whole 'incinerator' thing. But he still got a bad feeling about this place.

Richard paid no mind to Gar, Victor, the people, or the soldiers releasing their cuffs, he was busy looking for Kori. Where could she be?

His thoughts were interrupted once the entire crowd cheered deafeningly loud, all paying their attention to the balcony set right in the middle of the wall where the boys were staring. A man stepped up from his throne-like chair, raising his arms in narcissism, basking in the roar of the crowd before signaling them all to quiet down.

There wasn't much to look at for this man, seeing as how he was garbed in a white, priest-like robe. The robe fell down to his feet, his shoulders were garbed in a black, yellow-trimmed capelet, emblazoned with a stylized animal head at the center. His facial features included a prominent chin, a narcissistic smile, a pair of sadistic looking blue eyes, and two tufts of hair on both sides of his head.

"People of Steel City!" the man spoke loudly. "I, Brother Blood, am happy to give you another rousing day of battle!"

The crowd cheered.

"Today, we have three new meta-human's to join in the slaughter!"

The crowd, this time, booed.

"Once again, these foul beasts shall never destroy our way of civilization!" the crowd cheered as he continued, "We shall rid the world of meta-human's..."

Something immediately caught Richard's eyes as this Brother Blood continued rambling. Two young women stepped out of the balcony entrance, standing across from each other at the doorway. One of them looked familiar to him. She looked just like...

"Kori!" she was safe, again! But something was different about her. Her face told that she felt restricted, which she appeared to be, clad in what looked like, full-body armor. Her clothes were replaced with a mid-riff top, a mini-skirt, and a pair of thigh-high boots, all in black. Richard was happy to see she was safe, at least.

Gar, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes of the second girl. She was quite beautiful, even with her pale skin. Her shoulder-length hair and, rather emotionless, eyes were of the same dark purple color. He couldn't see anything else behind her blue cloak, which made him very curious as to what the girl was hiding. Whoever this girl was, he wanted to know.

"...And now," Brother Blood snapped both boys back into reality, "Let me introduce to you..."

As Blood continued on, everyone turned their attention to the large doors opening from across the arena.

"The team that shall destroy these worthless meta-human's..."

Coming out from the entrance, were five, very different, characters. The smallest one was, ironically, the one standing over the others, thanks to the mechanical spider-legs. He was about the same size as any five year-old kid, completely bald with no hair in sight, and a green bodysuit with a control panel on his chest, and a mechanical backpack that was protruding the spider-legs.

The tallest, and biggest, of the group was a very muscular man, but very hairy though. He was clad in a black sleeveless bodysuit, with gold-trimmed studs on his boots and across his chest and arm-holes to form an 'H'. His orange hair traveled down to his mid-back, and his mutton-chop side-burns could, very well, have been part of his caveman-like beard.

The third member of the group was dressed very mysteriously, almost like a bat, completely in black aside from his pale blue face and piercing red eyes.

The fourth member was clad in a red bodysuit from head to toe, aside from the black visor over his eyes and open mouth. His only insignia was a mathematical 'divide' sign inside a white circle.

The last member was dark-skinned, garbed in a white and teal green bodysuit, with a pair of gloves and boots the same color green, and a yellow eyelid with a black pupil. He wore some sort of bizarre green helmet that only had one eye, making him look like a cyclops.

Every single on of them was different, but the one thing they all had in common, Richard noticed, were the white wrist-braces they were all wearing on their right arms.

"I give you, Gizmo, Mammoth, Kyd Wykkyd, Billy Numerous, and See-More: the H.I.V.E. 5!"

The crowd cheered once more as the H.I.V.E. 5 sauntered over towards the boys. Richard, Victor and Gar couldn't believe what they were getting into. It was five on three, how is that fair?!

"And begin!" Blood shouted with a swipe of his arm, signaling for the fight to start.

The H.I.V.E. 5 only pressed a single button on their braces, and immediately charged, taking the boys by surprise. Mammoth tackled Victor halfway across the arena. See-More, with his helmet, shot giant eye-balls at Gar, who was frantically running away from the attacks. He tried to make a run for the exit, only to be stopped by ten Billy Numerous'. Richard was having trouble dealing with Kyd Wykkyd. Every time he saw the guy, and threw a punch, Wykkyd would be gone. Punch, disappear. Punch, disappear. He couldn't lay a single finger on him.

Mammoth, now mounting Victor, threw a fury of punches. Victor tried blocking him boxing-style, but the man was so strong, he was afraid each punch would break his armor into pieces. After numerous attempts at trying to punch Victor, Mammoth tried another tactic. He laced both of his hands together, and raised them his into the air to land one super strike.

That gave Victor an opening.

Gripping both arms in his hands, Victor sprung up and landed a vicious head-butt, right to Mammoth's skull. The mountain man stumbling back onto his feet to try to reduce the pain, which only meant good news for Victor. Unfortunately, Victor's legs were sweeped out from under him by a mechanical spider leg. A nazily, annoying laugh rang through Victor's ears, and all he wanted to do was pound that little shrimp, Gizmo, into a pulp.

"You stupid crud-muncher's!" Gizmo taunted. "You're idiot's if you think you can step up to the H.I.V.E."

Victor was about to speak, but felt himself being pulled up by his feet. Mammoth, with his crazy strength, swung Victor over his head in an arc-formation, and slammed him to the ground. His would repeat this move two more times before slamming him to the ground in a power-bomb maneuver. With Victor, Mammoth stayed his dominant claim by planting a big foot on Victor's chest, raising his arms in victory as the crowd cheered him on.

Gar tried running as fast as his cheetah legs could take him as he circled around the entire arena floor trying to find the exit, only every time he even came close, he was being tailed by a line of Billy Numerous'. It didn't help that they were taunting him, too, in that annoying hillbilly accent.

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can! You can't catch me... I mean, I can't catch... I'm Billy Numerous!"

Gar, having no other option left, tried running any which way he could to try and get away from Billy. He tried zig-zagging, circling, even square running, but he would always be stopped by Billy. Gar, soon, found himself completely surrounded by Billy's, who took full advantage of the situation, and dog-piled on the green teen.

Every miss from Richard meant a brutal punch from Kyd Wykkyd. Every time Richard would miss his mark, Wykkyd would land it on him. Richard knelt down on one knee, breathing heavily. He couldn't take much more of this. It wasn't until one final punch to the chin, did Richard find himself lying on his back, completely exhausted and beaten, as the crowd's cheering echoed in his mind before fading into mute. He looked around the arena, looking upon the many faces that hated meta-human's. He saw the pile of Billy Numerous' attacking Gar while See-More stood laughing. He saw Mammoth and Gizmo celebrating their conquest of Victor.

And then he saw Kori, standing from the balcony with a look of despair on her face.

Kyd Wykkyd knelt down at Richard's side, and picked him up onto his knees. He looked up at Brother Blood, and waited his command. The command that would signify either life, or death, for this man. All Blood gave was a simple nod, and he understood.

Kyd Wykkyd raised his arm, and out protruded three spikes, making the audience gasp and cheer, while making Kori gasp in horror. It was then something struck Richard.

He was about to die.

So this was it? Dying in front of a crowd of millions while Kori watched helplessly? Is this how it was going to end?

No.

No!

He was not going to die! Not like this! Not like an animal! He would win this!

Richard only had a second to act before his life was finished. He could sense the blades drawing closer and closer to him. Once they were, Richard finally ducked under the attack. With his opponent caught off-guard, he quickly spun around, and retaliated with a vicious uppercut to the chin that sent Kyd Wykkyd flying back.

Everyone stood in awe, even Brother Blood. Kori's heart filled with hope and joy. The other H.I.V.E. 5 members could only stare wildly at what just happened, which was a huge mistake.

Mammoth, overcome with shock, had stepped off Victor, which provided the cybernetic with an opening. With both hands, he gripped one Gizmo's spider legs. It was only until after Victor pulled did Gizmo realize he was in trouble, and screamed.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Gizmo yelled as Victor, with all his strength, spun the little twerp in a full circle, colliding with Mammoth and sending both of them flying, only without Gizmo's mechanical backpack.

All the Billy's dog-piled on gar immediately asked, "Huh?" as they felt the small teen begin to grow, and grow, and grow, until he was a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, his roar echoing throughout the arena. Gar took advantage of the situation, and with one swing of his tail, sent See-More, and every single Billy Numerous in the arena, crashing into the crowd, who were lucky enough to get out of the way just in time.

Nobody could believe their eyes. They had just watched three meta's take down the best team the H.I.V.E. had to offer! How could this be? Nobody survived the H.I.V.E. 5!

The three boys, now joined together again, took a moment to assess everything. They had just taken out the H.I.V.E. 5, and lived. They won! They were still alive! Richard was the first to laugh, with Victor and Gar afterwards. They laughed in pure joy and relief, raising their arms in victory, shouting 'yeah!' in celebration.

Pretty soon, the crowd began to cheer for them, which caught the attention of Brother Blood. They actually like them. And to be honest, he did too. He was curious as to what they possessed, and he learned very quickly. To be honest, he was very impressed, and also intrigued. With the crowd warming up to them, he wondered if he could possibly use these three for other purposes. Maybe they could be his Champion's. Yes, that sounds very good.

Brother Blood stood from his chair, and signaled the crowd to quiet down, as they did.

"People of Steel City! These three men, have bested the greatest team of soldier's the H.I.V.E. has to offer! Because of this... these men... these Titans... shall live!"

The crowd roared with joy, as did Kori's heart once more. Richard, Victor and Gar had another chance at life. That both relived them, and scared them. They barely lost this fight, and now they have to survive another? They put that thought in the back of their minds, and celebrated once more.

Gar was in the middle of celebrating, when he felt a strange aura flow through his body, like something was trying to speak with him. He would found out, instantly, that that was correct.

_"Good job." _the voice spoke, though somewhat emotionless. Gar looked in every which way to find where the voice came from.

"Uh, thanks. Uh, where are you?"

_"Up here, with Kori and Blood."  
_

Gar turned to immediately locked eyes with girl in the blue cloak.

_"Thanks for congratulating me."_ Gar spoke in his mind.

_"No problem, and please, call me Rachel."_

Rachel. A large grin formed on Gar's face. Even though he had just met this girl, he could tell he was going to like her. His initial thoughts of Rachel were soon cast out by Victor picking him up on his shoulder's and running around as they both cheered and celebrated once more.

Richard's eyes locked with Kori's, and he could see the happiness on her face. Though they could not speak, Kori saw everything through Richard's eyes. Yes, he was going to win. He would defeat any challenger.

And he didn't know how, he didn't know when, but he would win back their freedom, and destroy the H.I.V.E., once and for all.


	4. Exhibition and Proposition

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Glad to see so many good reviews! I apologize for the delay, it's been a combination of writer's block, packing the past few weeks, and finally moving into a new, temporary, home. But I'm back, and ready to write!

Now, as I promised, you will learn about Rachel(Raven) in this chapter, about how she became a slave, and developed her friendship with Kori(Starfire), as well as a relationship with Gar(Beast-Boy).

You will also get to meet some other characters :D

Hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Whoever said "prison life isn't that bad," was never introduced to a H.I.V.E. prison. The fights in the arena were a perfect example. Not to mention the prison they were held captive in. The prison was built much like a hexagon, the same size as the arena, with an equally large courtyard. At the centers of the south and north wall, sat two towers overlooking the entire prison, like two all-seeing eyes, just waiting to see if someone went out of line. One of them, was where Brother Blood set himself.

It was also where our hero's were, standing on the large yellow/black/white hexagonal 'H' carpet. As for Brother Blood himself, he was standing across the table, staring out of the large window overlooking the courtyard, where the other hundred's of prisoner's were stationed.

Richard, Victor and Gar continued to stand at the center of the room, staring across the table at Brother Blood's back, waiting for him to speak.

"I was impressed with your victory in the arena this morning." Blood finally spoke, turning around to face the boys. "To be honest, I never really expected you to survive. But than again, I've had other surprises while overlooking you meta-human's."

He spoke of the other meta-human's stationed outside in the courtyard.

"No-one has never defeated the H.I.V.E. 5 in their first match. You three boys are something special."

"What makes you say that?" Victor asked, with a hint of suspicion. He couldn't place it, but there was something about Blood that rubbed him the wrong the way.

"Like I said," Blood responded with a smile, "No-on has ever defeated the H.I.V.E. 5 in their first match."

"What was with those braces they were wearing?" Richard asked the question he had wanted to ask.

"As you know, meta-human's aren't welcome in the world. They see them as bringers of destruction, not peace. Of course, not everyone feels the same. Those without powers wish they were granted with them. But seeing as how they don't know how, they decide to join the H.I.V.E., so those with powers can be dealt justice."

"So they only join because they're jealous?" Gar asked.

"Not all. Others join because they just dislike meta's. The H.I.V.E. are both. They weren't granted powers, and therefore, hated meta's. They came to me to join the H.I.V.E." Blood began sauntering around his table, "I saw the potential in them, and offered them a position as executioner's in the arena. I gave them the braces so that they can be given the powers they so desired. Gizmo, with his technology. Mammoth, with his super-strength. Kyd Wykkyd, with his vanishing. See-More, with his powerful eye. And Billy Numerous, with his duplication."

He now stood between his table, and the boys, "And as you saw, they work wonders."

"Yeah, they worked." Victor said, dryly.

"And we beat them." Gar added.

"That you did." Blood replied, walking back to his throne-like chair.

"So, what? Do we win something?" Richard asked as Blood sat back on his chair.

"You live to fight another day, as well as more money to gain your freedom."

Wait, money? What was he talking about?

"What you mean, 'to gain our freedom?'" Richard asked.

"Each fight you win, you are granted money, that which will take you one step further to winning your freedom back."

So, in exchange for taking them against their will, those with powers are granted the opportunity to fight for their freedom? What kind of sick game is this?

"So you expect us to fight for you, while trying to stay alive and earn money for our freedom?"

"Correct."

"There's something wrong with you." Gar spoke incredulously.

That earned him a scowl from Blood.

"You watch your mouth, boy." he warned. "Guards!"

At the sound of his voice, three H.I.V.E. soldier's entered the room, holding the same number of circular objects. They stood behind the boys, wrapping the objects around their throats.

"Hey, what's the big deal?" Gar asked, just as the guard's began taking them away.

"Can't have you using your powers inside my prison now, can we?" Blood smirked. "Take them to the courtyard! And make sure they don't try to escape."

"Wait!" Richard stopped, spinning on his heel, only to be held back by the guard's, "What about Kori?"

It took a moment for Blood to figure out what he was implying.

"Ah, yes. The girl. She is safe, and if you are able to win your freedom, I will grant you her's, as well."

"You better keep your word." Richard growled.

Blood smiled, "But of course. I always keep my word."

With that, the guard's escorted the three boys out of the tower.

* * *

Standing in the middle of an office, and waiting for a command isn't what Kori expected when she was captured. Then again, she never expected to be captured into slavery, either.

The office was very modern. The walls painted snow white, a black-wooden cabinet stationed above a counter of the same color. A desk-table was set not too far ahead, across the room from a large horizontal window, overlooking the ocean. If it wasn't for the whole 'slavery' thing, it would have been nice to stay in.

It didn't help that the woman standing in front of her wasn't exactly pleasant, either. She was elderly, though not in need of a cane. In fact, she was quite posh, clad in a gray knee-length, V-neck suit, with a pair of dark pants underneath.

She stood in front of Kori, her dark green eyes boring directly into Kori's bright green ones like daggers.

"You're the new girl, aren't you?" she asked, placing her hands behind her.

"Yes, ma'am." Kori replied.

"And you know that you are to listen to me, don't you?"

Kori nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

"You will not call me "ma'am," you shall refer to me, as "Headmistress."

"Yes, Headmistress."

The Headmistress then turned her attention to the girl to Kori's right, Rachel. Just like what she did with Kori, she stood straight in front of her.

"Rachel, since you've been here for quite some time, I want you to teach this..." she passed a look of disgust at Kori, "Meta-human, what she is to do."

"Yes, Headmistress." Rachel replied, dryly.

"Good." the Headmistress made her way behind her desk, sitting down on her leather chair. She laced her hands together in front of her, "You are to do exactly what I say, when I say it. You will not complain, you will not refuse, and you will not rebel. If you do, then I will make sure you receive the punishment you deserve. Do you both understand?"

"Yes, Headmistress." Kori and Rachel spoke in unison.

"Good. You may leave." she dismissed them with a wave of her hand. The girls nodded, and exited out the door.

The girls made their way down the hall in silence. It was kind of awkward for Kori, though. She wanted to know more about Rachel, but wasn't sure of what to say. She got this sort of don't-talk-to-me feeling from Rachel, which upset her. If only she could find a way...

"You know you can talk to me, right?"

Um...

"...Really?" Kori hesitated, not expecting such openness.

"Really."

Well... great! This was wonderful to Kori! She always loved making new friends.

"Well," she cleared her throat, "thank you, Rachel. But if you do not mind my asking, why are you here?"

Rachel stopped in her tracks, causing Kori to stop, too. That concerned her. What if she said something wrong? What if she offended Rachel somehow by asking her why she's here? She watched in silence as Rachel stepped towards one of the many horizontal windows overlooking the city, and waited for her speak. Eventually, she did.

"If you're hoping for an 'I fought back against the H.I.V.E.' story, than sorry to burst your bubble." Rachel closed her eyes and sighed before continuing, "See... I don't consider my powers a blessing. They're more of a curse."

A curse?

"What do you mean?" Kori asked, stepping next to Rachel.

"My powers are controlled by emotion. The more I feel, the more energy is released. I didn't know that until it was too late."

"'Too late?'" Kori asked.

"My father wasn't exactly a kind man. One day, me and mother went to visit him at work. He was the boss. He got angry at mother for something, I don't know what. I do know, though, that I wasn't about to let him hurt her. That's when I got my powers. I was so angry with him, I didn't care what I did to him until after it happened."

"After what happened?"

Rachel paused before answering, "I killed him."

Kori gasped, raising her hand over mouth. Rachel... killed her father? She understood he wasn't the "World's Greatest Dad", but she never expected Rachel to do that!

Rachel continued, "I, somehow, levitated him using some sort of dark magic, and sent him falling from the top floor of his building. That caused some problems with the police. They tried taking me in, but my mother got in the way. I wished she didn't." she lowered her head somberly, trying desperately not to break down and cry.

"What happened to your mother, Rachel?" Kori asked, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"They killed her. Right in front of me. I held her in my arms as she died. I was so angry, I lost control of my powers. Pretty soon, all that was left around me, was a wasteland, and my mother. I didn't believe my powers could help. I thought they were only for destruction. So, I gave myself up to the H.I.V.E., and that's why I'm here."

Kori let the information sink in. Rachel's father was abusive, and took his anger out on her mother. Kori could understand being angry at anyone who hurt her mother, but with Rachel... she couldn't handle it. She killed her own father, and then the police! And now, here she was, at the mercy of the H.I.V.E.

"Rachel... I am so sorry."

Rachel looked up at Kori, and found herself genuinely surprised by her reaction. She figured Kori would run away and never speak to her again. But instead, she was actually comforting. It felt... nice.

"Thank you, Kori."

Kori nodded, "You are welcome." she then did something completely unexpected to Rachel.

She hugged her.

Sadly, it was short-lived, as Rachel didn't seem to care much for a hug from the Tamaranean.

"Ok, Kori. Enough. You're hugging me."

Kori released herself, "Apologies." she laughed embarrassingly, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's ok." Rachel smiled. "Come on, let's go before the Head-_hag_ tells us to do something."

Kori giggled at the remark.

* * *

Outside, in the courtyard, the boys stood amongst the other prisoner's, standing in the front center, waiting for something to happen, like soldier's waiting for a command.

It wasn't long until they noticed someone coming their way from across the courtyard.

He looked to be middle-aged, with a jet-black goattee and a boastful smile on his face. He was clad in a black body-suit from head-to-toe, with a pair of white boots, a belt, and armor on his chest and arms that resembled motocross armor. He looked to be very skinny, as well. If it wasn't for the armor, everyone would probably be laughing at him.

The man stood in front of the prisoner's with his hands behind his back, gazing left and right at the large crowd before him, inspecting them like a sergeant with his troops.

"You are here because the world doesn't want you. You are worthless, pathetic, and destructive." he began pacing back and forth, never taking his eyes off the prisoner's, "In the outside world, you are treated as outcasts. In here..." he stopped, "You are treated as prisoner's."

Quite the motivational speaker, isn't he?

"A prison is much different from an arena. In the arena, you are Titans. In prison, you are nothing." he smiled, "That's why I, Dr. Light, am here to help you." Dr. Light began pacing again, "You are to follow my rules. If you do not abide by my rules, you will be severely... reprimanded."

Well, that just sounds fun.

Dr. Light gazed at the prisoner's before him, until his eyes were met with something surprising to him.

"Well, well, well..." he said, sauntering up to Richard, Victor and Gar, "Look who we have here: the Three Musketeers. I saw your performance in the arena this morning. Quite impressive. No-one has ever defeated the H.I.V.E. 5 in their first battle."

"So we've heard." Richard retorted.

"I am very curious as to see what you three can do, without your powers." Dr. Light spoke of the collars around each prisoner's neck, "Perhaps a demonstration?"

Dr. Light walked back to his original spot, facing the prisoner's in a demanding tone, "We shall have an exhibition, to prove just how... adept, you are at not using your powers. We shall test you..." he pointed to Victor, "...and you." and then pointed to Gar.

Victor and Gar exchanged worried glances, were they really going to fight each other? Just for a simple test?

"Both of you. Now!" Dr. Light commanded.

Victor and Gar, not wanting to receive another shout, grudgingly walked to opposite ends of Dr. Light, who was passing nasty looks to the both of them.

"You fought against the H.I.V.E. with your powers. You fight in the arena using your powers. But here, in this prison, powers are forbidden. You use them, you shall suffer the consequences. Are you both ready?" he exchanged glances with both Victor and Gar.

"Yeah." Victor replied.

"Yeah." Gar responded.

Dr. Light walked away from the two fighters to stand with the other prisoner's, "Then begin."

First Victor and Gar circled each other, waiting for one of them to make the first move. They both could tell neither wanted to fight, but they also didn't want to suffer any consequences this Dr. Light might enforce.

Finally, Gar made the first move. He understood Victor was bigger, and stronger, than him, because of his cybernetics. But thankfully, one thing about being small, is speed. He needed to capitalize on that.

In a flash, Gar ducked underneath Victor's legs. With Victor having little time to react, Gar capitalized by kicking the back of Victor's legs, bringing the big man down. With Victor now on his knees, Gar planned on ending this early. He immediately jumped on Victor's back, wrapping one arm around his throat, and another on his head, in a sleeper-hold-type maneuver.

Victor, though he didn't like to admit, wasn't impressed with Gar's hold. It wasn't exactly a strong hold, but he could tell Gar was trying. Gar wanted to win, and fast. But so did Victor.

He picked himself up from the ground, Gar still on his back. With one arm, Victor reached out behind him, grabbed Gar by the back of his shirt, and pulled him over his shoulder, slamming him to the ground with a thud.

The pain shot up Gar's back like a lightning strike. Damn, Victor was powerful. He was just happy he didn't know exactly how powerful, as he managed to roll out of the way in time before Victor's large, metal foot was able to connect with his face.

After managing to escape a colossal curb-stomp, Gar pushed himself up to his feet. With Victor now in his sights, he instantly charged forward, roaring like a lion. Victor only had a second to react as he saw Gar try to leap-frog over him. Unfortunately, for Gar, he only got about half-way until Victor was carrying him on his shoulders.

Quickly, Gar tried to break away from his predicament, punching away at Victor's head as fast as he could. When it looked like Victor was beginning to fade, Gar seized the chance. He tried flipping backwards in order to bring Victor down with him, but never managed to do so. Victor was still standing, and still holding on to Gar's legs.

To Gar's surprise, and shock, Victor picked the green boy up on his shoulders once more, and immediately slammed him down on his back. But Gar was still holding on, though. Another pick-up, and another slam. Gar still held on. Finally, one last pick-up, and one last slam, and Gar lied on the ground, motionless.

Dr. Light smiled at the scene before him. Perhaps these prisoner's won't be so useless as he thought.

"Here is your winner..." he presented his arm. He was going to say 'Victor', but realized that wasn't good enough.

"Cyborg."

Victor let the name sink in. 'Cyborg'. Even though it was, most likely, a prison name, he decided against intervening. It didn't matter to him, anyway. Right now, all that mattered, was Gar's safety.

"What about Gar?" he asked.

"Take him to the med-bay on the west side. The medics will take care of him."

Victor looked at Richard for assistance, and Richard was willing to do so. He ran over to their position, helping pick Gar up back on his feet. They could both tell he was in serious pain.

That only made Victor feel more guilty.

* * *

The med-bay was surprisingly roomy for a prison. Maybe it was just because the H.I.V.E. wanted their own fighters to feel special. There were two rows of hospital beds, reaching from one end of the room, to the other. The sun shined through the bay doors, giving the med-bay a surprisingly nice feeling.

Unfortunately, Gar wasn't feeling so nice. His back was killing him, though he guessed he should be happy he was lying on his stomach at the moment.

And he guessed he should be happier to know that Rachel was taking care of him. She gently placed her hand on his back as they glowed a light blue. Though it was gentle at the touch, Gar still held back a scream as he could feel the bones knitting back together.

Victor, who was sitting at the edge of the bed next to his, could see Gar trying not to scream. That just made him feel worse, and he lowered his head, crestfallen.

"I'm sorry, Gar." he said, sighing as he rested his elbows on his knees and laced his hands together under his chin. "You know I didn't mean to hurt as bad as I did."

"I know, dude. It's ok." Gar managed a weak smile, "At least I have you guys here to keep me company."

Victor managed a smile, as did Richard, Kori, and Rachel.

"I've reduced the injury a little," Rachel informed him, "but you're still going to be hurting a few days."

Gar sighed, "At least I'll be able to _move_ in a few days. Got that going for me."

Everyone's attention was turned at the sound of a door opening. It was then Brother Blood entered, making his way to join the others.

"How is he?" he asked, not looking worried at all.

"He'll be up and running in a few days." Rachel replied.

Blood nodded, "Good. I'll leave you to it. In the meantime, Richard, return to your cell, and Kori, return to the Headmistress. Victor, I need speak with you."

Victor was curious as to why Blood would want to speak with him. He passed a questionable glance at the others before following Blood outside the med-bay, Richard and Kori following suite before going separate ways, leaving Victor and Blood together. Once they were a good distance away from the med-bay, Blood spoke.

"Dr. Light informed me of your exhibition with your friend, Gar. He was very impressed by the sound of it."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't." Victor responded, troubled.

"In fact, he was so impressed, he requested you show-off your talents in the arena."

Victor's brows furrowed in confusion.

"The arena?"

"Tomorrow. At high noon. I look forward to your presentation... Cyborg."

As Victor watched Brother Blood travel down the hall, all that was running through his mind was what Blood was planning. Sure, it didn't look like he was planning anything, but Victor could tell he was up to something. He wasn't sure what, but there was something he didn't like about Blood. And now that he has him fighting in the arena tomorrow, that only increased his suspicion even more.

Meanwhile, back in the med-bay, Gar was in the middle of thinking. It wasn't about his injury, it wasn't about being in a hospital, either. In fact, it was about the girl healing him, Rachel. His mind still reeled back to the first time he spoke to her.

She told him 'good job'. It may have sounded simple to others, but to him, it was uplifting. After being told you don't belong, and running away from a secret organization trying to capture you, a simple 'good job' can do a lot for a person. And it did just that for Gar.

"Hey, Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want to say, thank you for healing me, again."

"No problem." Rachel replied.

"And I want to say thanks for telling me 'good job' this morning. It meant a lot." Gar smiled.

"Well, with everything that's happened, it's nice to have a little encouragement. Besides, you seem like a nice guy."

Gar's ears perked up, "Really? Hey, I'm funny, too! I know some jokes!"

A bead of sweat dropped down Rachel's head.

_Oh, great._


	5. Cyborg

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen!

Okay, now it's time for the first, official, fight in the arena. It's Cyborg's moment of glory!

And I would like to thank everyone for the reviews, as well!

I hope you enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Victor, or as he was now pronounced, Cyborg, stood before the large double-doors that entered to the arena. Today was the day he would fight by himself, as requested by Dr. Light, and ordered by Brother Blood. He could the roar of the crowd outside, waiting for a spectacle. His mind was racing with questions.

What was going to happen? Who was his opponent? Was he going to die? All these thoughts ran through his head and made him extremely nervous. But he remembered what Blood had said, with every win, they raise money for their freedom.

And he wanted freedom.

Pushing all negative thoughts aside, and sighing to rid himself of any nervousness, Cyborg pushed the doors open. The roar of the crowd intensified as Cyborg stepped out. Even though they were mostly booing and jeering him, Cyborg was still amazed at the sheer size of the crowd.

His mind instantly thought back his time before the accident.

Before his cybernetics, Victor Stone was the star player of his High School football team. Nobody could touch him. He was an army tank on the field, crushing anyone who tried taking him down. When Victor was on the field, everybody cheered his name.

But now, here he was. A slave, forced to fight in front of thousands of people who hated him, for a man who lead the organization that detested him, and contained him. There were no cheers, there were no banners, no chanting of his name. These people weren't here to see him win. They came to see him lose.

Unfortunately, for them, he wasn't about to let that happen.

He didn't care what these people were expecting, or who his opponent was, all he cared about was winning.

"People of Steel City!" Blood's voice rang out from his balcony, ringing throughout the arena. "Today, you shall be presented a glorious battle! A battle between two monumental powerhouses! In the arena, I present to you, Cyborg!"

The crowd's boo's didn't seem to faze Cyborg one bit.

"And now, for his opponent! An opponent worthy of combating this titanic Titan!"

The other set of door's across the arena began to open, gaining Cyborg's, and the crowd's, attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you..."

Once his opponent stepped out from his entrance, Cyborg had to actually look up at reach eye-level. A colossal rock giant stared Cyborg down with his piercing red eyes.

"Cinderblock!"

Cinderblock roared as the crowd cheered for him. The giant stomped over to Cyborg's position, staring the metallic teen down like an ant about to be squashed.

_You've got to be kidding me!_ Cyborg screamed in his mind.

"BEGIN!" Blood's voice brought Cyborg back to reality. He was lucky, too. If he hadn't dodged Cinderblock's stomp, he would have, probably, been crushed.

With his mind set on the battle, Cyborg charged at the giant rock monster. Cinderblock charged as well, and threw a single punch that only connected to the ground, as Cyborg jumped out of the way and onto Cinderblock's arm. With one punch to the face, Cyborg sent the monster stumbling back. He jumped to try and land another punch, but Cinderblock was able to catch him, and throw him across the arena floor.

Cyborg bounced off the floor before halting on his stomach. While trying to pick himself up, he caught sight of Cinderblock charging at him again. Thinking quickly, he aimed his arm at Cinderblock's legs. His arm shot out like a cannon, attached with a wire, wrapping itself around Cinderblock's legs and bringing the monster down.

The wire detached itself from Cinderblock's legs. While the monster picked himself on its knees, he decided to look up, and received a giant uppercut across the chin, bringing him down on his back now.

With his opponent down, Cyborg was ready to finish him off. Climbing on top of Cinderblock's chest, Cyborg clenched his fist, and prepared to end this fight.

Unfortunately, Cinderblock was prepared. Before Cyborg could land his final punch, the rock giant grabbed him in his massive hand, trapping him.

Cyborg tried struggling out of Cinderblock's tight grip, but the monster's strength was too much for him. Cinderblock, with his opponent in hand, roared as he threw the metallic teen all the way across the arena, actually crashing into the stands after people managed to run away just in time.

The crowd's cheers rang throughout the arena as Cinderblock roared in victory.

Blood watched the spectacle with a smile on his face, thinking the fight was over. He went to stand up to declare Cinderblock the victor, but something stopped him. From the large crater embedded in the stands, a large number of rockets shot out, homed in on Cinderblock, himself.

The second Cinderblock turned around, he was immediately blasted with a barrage of rockets. Some actually made contact, others landed and exploded around him in a cloud of smoke.

It took a moment for the smoke to finally clear, and once it did, Cinderblock received a massive punch to the face. The force was able to send Cinderblock flying across the arena, ending him crashing into the stands himself.

After regaining his composure, Cinderblock appeared to be very angry, as evidenced by his monster-like roar. In a fit of rage, Cinderblock charged again. Cyborg charged as well, jumping into the air with his fist reeled back.

Both sides collided fists, and both were sent sliding away from each other on their backs. The crowd cheered as loud as they could, absolutely mesmerized by the spectacle they were watching. The fact that these two super-heavyweights could last this long was amazing.

Even Brother Blood himself was impressed with these two. Especially Cyborg. This man/machine hybrid truly was something special.

Gar, resting in the med-bay, was able to watch the fight on a monitor provided for him, set on a stand in front of his bed. He couldn't contain his excitement, and was screaming at the monitor for Cyborg to win.

"Come on, Victor! Get up and finish it!"

In the midst of waving his arms around like a madman, Gar accidentally tipped over the tray of food sitting on the table next to him. The contents of his tofu burger's spilled over the floor, while the herbal tea, provided by Rachel, spilled onto his lap.

It didn't help the fact that the tea was still piping hot.

Cyborg's head was killing him right now. Every time he tried lifting it up, his head would just plummet back down. The fight had taken too much out of him. He somehow managed to lift his arm up to check his status.

33%

This wasn't good.

Cinderblock's stomps gained his attention, and now the giant was standing over him looking even more angry.

This wasn't good at all.

Cinderblock raised his giant foot again, and in a last attempt of strength, Cyborg managed to catch his foot, and was now straining to stop it from curb-stomping him.

Cyborg's eyes glanced over to his arm, his readings going down faster and faster every second. He could feel himself getting weaker, and Cinderblock's foot getting closer.

He didn't want to lose this way. Not like this. He wasn't going to let his limitations get in the way. With whatever strength he had left, Cyborg, using only one arm to keep Cinderblock's foot up, began punching away at the rock giant's leg.

Every punch delivered grew more vicious with each hit. Hit after hit after hit, he tried to get the giant off him. Finally, with one last punch, Cyborg managed to actually break Cinderblock's leg, reducing it into rubble.

Cinderblock screamed in pain, falling right onto his back with no support of his right leg. Cyborg brushed himself, storming towards the fallen giant. Gripping his one good leg, Cyborg began to spin Cinderblock around like a throwing weight.

With his last bit of strength, Cyborg finally let go of Cinderblock, sending the giant flying over the arena, to the outside, and resulting in Cinderblock crashing into a nearby building.

Everyone in the arena stared in shock. The crowd, Brother Blood, Gar, even the other prisoner's watching in their cells. Nobody could believe what they just witnessed. A slave, had just taken out one of the H.I.V.E.'s greatest monster's.

There was silence all throughout the arena, except for Cyborg's heavy breathing. Everybody was speechless, but Brother Blood managed to be the first to speak, stepping up from his chair.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Your winner... Cyborg!"

Then Cyborg heard something he hadn't heard in so long. Cheering. They were actually cheering him. Moments ago, they wanted him dead, but now they love him. It was... unbelievable.

"Go, VICTOR!" Gar exclaimed in joy from his hospital bed, fist-pumping in the air like a madman.

Richard, who was sitting in his cell, could only smile in awe at what just happened. Victor had won!

Cyborg's heart soared as the feeling of victory washed over him. The roar of the crowd ringing in his head, letting it soothe him as he looked over at the thousands of people cheering him, chanting his name, "Cyborg! Cyborg! Cyborg!"

The chants, the cheers, all of this filled Cyborg's heart with joy, so much that he could contain it, and he let it all out, with one fist-pump, and one word.

"BOO-YAH!"


	6. Party Nearly Ruined (Revised Chapter)

**Author's Note: **Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I was happy to see everyone enjoyed Cyborg's chapter! And don't worry, other character's will be getting their own, as well!

Now, I know most of you read the original version of this chapter, but in all honesty, I felt as though it was kind of flat. So, I decided to revise it a little bit. And don't worry, I promised to introduce new characters, and I did!

I hope you enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Cyborg's victory had been celebrated, and now it was time for his reward. As Blood promised, every win gains the victor money, and one step to freedom. As Cyborg stood in front of Blood's desk, Blood couldn't help but smile, although a little mischievously.

"You did well against Cinderblock, Cyborg. Your win will be quite a story to tell."

"I'm just glad I won." Cyborg replied, though not so enthusiastic.

"And as promised, you shall be granted money, which will take you closer to earning your freedom back." Blood handed Cyborg a stack of money.

"Thanks." Cyborg took the money, and inspected it. His brows furrowed, "Wait..." he looked at Blood with a confused, and irritated, look on his face, "This is only $10. And they're all in ones!"

Blood smiled smugly, "I never said it would be a lot of money."

"Are you serious?!"

"Yes."

"I need more!" Cyborg slammed his hand on Blood's desk. Blood, now furious, stood from his chair, getting right in Cyborg's face.

"I give you what you earn! You will accept it, or I'll take it away!" his voice lowered, "Would you like that, Cyborg? Would you like it, if I ruined your chances at freedom? If you do, I will personally see to it, that your life here, will be a living nightmare."

At first, Cyborg wanted to punch this guy out. He felt he deserved more than just $10, but apparently, Blood didn't think so. He stared into Blood's eyes, wanting nothing more than to tell him off. But he realized Blood would take his money away, and that would postpone his freedom.

Cyborg sighed, slowly stepping away from Brother Blood, now sitting back in his chair. Cyborg never took his eyes off Blood as he reached for the door. He halted when Blood spoke once more.

"I'm glad you see it my way."

Cyborg's only response, was slamming the door.

* * *

After leaving Blood's tower, Cyborg decided to visit Gar in the med-bay. He was happy to see Gar's back was better, seeing as how the green boy was sitting up. After arriving at the med-bay, Cyborg explained to Gar his so-called 'reward.'

"Dude! $10?! That's not cool!" Gar exclaimed.

Cyborg sighed, "Yeah, but apparently, it's "what I earn." he put in air quotes towards the end.

"Well, at least you won. That's good." Gar said, trying to remain positive.

Cyborg smiled, "Thanks, Gar, and I'm happy to see your back's better."

"Thanks. Rachel did a great job."

A provocative smile spread on Cyborg's lips, "So... Rachel, huh?"

Gar's brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"I saw that smile you had when we first arrived here."

Gar's face became as red as a cherry, "I...I... I don't know what you're talking about!" he rejected the thought of him liking Rachel, complete with crossing his arms and looking away from Cyborg.

But Cyborg's smile never faded, and he nudged Gar's arm, "C'mon, man. You know you like her!"

Gar rolled his eyes, "Whatever." he said. Even though he was defending his dislike of Rachel, he couldn't help but admit, in his mind, that he actually did like Rachel. Sure, he had just met her, but there was something about Rachel that he found comforting. Maybe it was her telling him 'good job' when he first arrive. Maybe it was her healing his, nearly broken, back. Whatever it was, he liked it.

But he couldn't let Cyborg know that.

* * *

Rachel walked into the main room, carrying a tray of food for the festivities yet to come. Every once in a while, the H.I.V.E. likes to organize a get-together with some of the worst people you can imagine. Looters, thieves, hired guns, governors, you name it. And the worst part is, they all hated meta's.

Rachel placed the tray on one of the many long-tables set up against the walls, while Kori was finishing up pouring pitchers of wine. The room they were hosting the party at was ginormous, very golden, open-spaced luxury. The view of Steel City could be seen through the giant glass wall at the end of the main room, as well as upstairs on a long balcony. Chairs were spread out with smaller tables, in case anyone just wanted to sit. The only reason they were spread out was to make room for the exhibitions Dr. Light provided with the prisoner's.

The Headmistress entered the room, dressed very formal in a black evening gown and arm-length gloves. If you organized the party, might as well look the part. She surveyed the area, and found she was greatly impressed.

"Good job, girls." she said, trying not to sound too nice. They were her slaves after all.

"Thank you, Headmistress." said both girls simultaneously, standing at attention.

Brother Blood now entered the room, surveying the room as he spoke to the Headmistress. And unlike the Headmistress, he didn't bother to dress formally, so he still wore his traditional robe.

"Everything looks to be in order." he said, nodding his head. "Your girls did well."

The Headmistress nodded, "Thank you, Brother Blood. The guests should be arriving soon."

"Perfect. I've already called Dr. Light to bring in the prisoner's for their enjoyment."

Kori held back a gasp. If the prisoner's were going to be here, that means Richard was too! Rachel could sense her friend's joy, and although she herself wasn't one for joy, she was glad to see Kori still had a reason to be happy.

"I only hope our friend shows up this time." Blood muttered.

"I know you're upset because he never attends, Blood, but perhaps tonight will be different?" the Headmistress replied.

Kori looked at Rachel with a questionable look. Who was this friend they spoke of? Rachel looked at Kori and merely shook her head, letting Kori know that even she didn't know.

Blood sighed, "We can only hope."

"Yes," said the Headmistress, "Yes, we can."

The guests eventually arrived, formal wear and all. Everybody stood, chatting with whoever they could. They weren't exactly here for the festivities, they were mostly here to witness the new prisoner's in action. Word spread of Cyborg's victory very fast, and they wanted to see if the rumors were true.

Brother Blood and the Headmistress surveyed the scenery, and kept a watchful eye out for their 'special friend'. So far, no signs of him. Great.

"He still hasn't shown up." Brother Blood muttered.

"Relax. I'm sure he'll show up soon. Look, Dr. Light has arrived."

Her words rang true, as Dr. Light entered the room, followed by a number of prisoner's, including Cyborg and Richard. Kori and Rachel, who stood amongst the Headmistress and Brother Blood, caught sight of the prisoner's entering, and Kori's heart soared at seeing Richard.

Richard looked up at the balcony, at Kori, and managed a small smile at her. He was happy to see she was still here, still safe. That would be enough to get him through this little 'get-together'.

The prisoner's stood in a single-file line at the center of the room. The guests gathered around to behold the eight prisoner's Dr. Light had brought with him.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Dr. Light spoke, "I bring you the best prisoner's I have to offer! Including Cyborg, the man who defeated Cinderblock! Please, take a look."

The guests gathered around the prisoner's, inspecting them very thoroughly. Those who had heard of Cyborg, looked at him with a mixture of amazement, and disgust. He may have been victorious in battle, but he was still a meta.

The other prisoner's were inspected as well, one by one, with Richard standing the very end. He just stood stoic, not paying any attention to anyone. These people weren't here to marvel at him, they hated him. And he hated them. Why should he give them any of his attention?

"Hey." Richard's thoughts were broken when the boy next him spoke. Richard slowly turned his head to face the boy.

He was just as tall as Richard, though not as pale. His hair was styled the same spikey way Richard had his, only this boy's hair was red. He had the same blue colored eyes as Richard, though his may have been a shade lighter. The boy was clad in a pair of white sneakers and blue pants. His yellow jacket zipped up only half-way over his white shirt, which had a red lightning bolt striking diagonally across the chest.

He seemed like a nice kid, but Richard still wasn't in the mood for any small-talk, especially with all these criminals around. Yet, something told him this kid wouldn't leave him alone until he talked. Well, why bother trying to ignore him?

"Yeah?" he replied, flatly.

"Are you who I think you are?"

"That depends. Who do you think I am?"

The boy was immediately interrupted by one of the shrillest voices to ever belong to a human being.

"Oh! My! GOSH! IT'S RICHARD GRAYSON!"

At that point, the red-head was violently pushed aside. In his place, was a blonde, blue-eyed girl, in a strapless pink dress. The girl, who had now garnered everyone's attention with the mention of Richard Grayson, was now marveling at the eccentric billionaire.

"I can't believe it! Richard Grayson! What are you doing here?"

The girls voice was like nails on a chalkboard to Richard. And before he could speak, Brother Blood decided to speak for him.

"He is here, Kitten, because..."

"Because I was captured, trying to save my best friend." Richard cut Blood off immediately, making everyone gape in shock, yet Cyborg, Rachel, and of course, Kori, smiled.

"Anyway," Blood continued, through gritted teeth before speaking normally, "Yes, _the_ Richard Grayson, is here with us tonight! As you know, he and his fellow Titans, Cyborg and Gar, who is still hospitalized, arrived here a day ago, and defeated the H.I.V.E. 5 in their first battle!"

"Yet, we haven't seen the great Richard Grayson in action!" Dr. Light pointed out, "How about a demonstration?"

The girl known as 'Kitten', was ecstatic, "Yes, please!"

Dr. Light smiled, "Very well. Richard! Stand forth!"

Richard did as he was told, stepping towards the center of the room.

"Xavier!"

Next was a boy who, might as well have been, an almost mirror image of Richard. Same height, same build, same pale skin. His hair was short and gray, his bangs brushed off to the side. His eyes were dark, almost gray like his hair. The only clothing he had was all black; a pair of shoes, pants, and a short-sleeved shirt with a stylized red 'X' on the sleeves.

Xavier sauntered to the center of the room with a smug smile, as if he felt like he was a champion of some sort. He stared across at Richard, his smirk not wavering. It was as if he didn't care.

"Begin!" Dr. Light commanded.

"Wait!" Brother Blood shouted, gaining everyone's attention. "I just had an idea. As most of you know, Xavier and Richard are those without powers. Why waste time with a silly exhibition, when they can really showcase their talents, in the arena?"

Murmurs wandered from person to person. Usually, those in the arena would fight others with powers. But to have two of them without powers? That's never been done before.

"Yes! Tomorrow, it shall be Richard Grayson vs. Xavier Redd, at dawn! Be there to witness a spectacle unfold!"

As the guests applauded Blood's announcement, Richard and Xavier decided to have a few choice words between the two of them. Xavier's traveled up and down, studying Richard, who did the same.

"Looks like I'm not the only pureblood around here, eh kid?" Xavier asked.

"Pureblood?" Richard questioned the word.

"You know, guys without all the fancy-dancy powers and all that. You and I? We're all natural."

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel better."

Xavier shrugged, "Whatever you say. So, what are you in for?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Richard retorted.

"This is where you go when you try to steal from a H.I.V.E. base for advanced tech." Xavier said jokingly. "So, what's your story?"

"I saved a friend, and we were captured."

"Really?" Xavier seemed interested. "Who's your friend?"

This time Richard didn't want to speak. Something about Xavier rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't want to say anything about Kori. Unfortunately, his eyes betrayed him, and drifted up to the balcony. Xavier followed Richard's eyes, and quickly found out who this 'friend' really was.

"Wow." he said, not taking his eyes off of Kori. "Quite the cutie you got there."

Richard's eyes became daggers, which didn't go unnoticed by Xavier.

"Oh, sorry. Is she yours? 'Cuz if not..." he looked up at Kori again, "I sure wouldn't mind a piece of that."

That was huge mistake.

The second he turned his attention back to Richard, Xavier's face connected with his fist. With Xavier stumbling, Richard tackled him to the ground, and proceeded to punch him repeatedly.

Everyone looked on in shock as the two boys exchanged punches, Richard landing hit after hit as he knelt over Xavier. After a few more hits, Xavier eventually fought back and now had Richard pinned beneath him, landing punch after punch.

Four guards, eventually, came in to stop the fight, picking both boys up and away from each other. Richard kept trying to break away from the two guards holding him back, rage the only thing fueling him. Xavier, also held back by two guards, didn't try to break away. The only thing he did, was smirk.

Things were starting to look uneasy, and out of control. Blood didn't want things to get bad, it would ruin him! So, he decided to make the best of the situation.

"Do you see the fire between these two? Just ready to tear each other apart! And they will tomorrow, and all of you will be able to witness this great battle! Be prepared!"

The guests cheers faded away from Richard's mind. All he wanted to do at this moment, was destroy Xavier. He wasn't going to let this bastard disrespect Kori like that, and as God as his witness, he was going to make Xavier regret his words.

He would make Xavier pay.


	7. Disappointment

**Author's Note:** Hey, guys! I'm really happy with the way the revision went in the last Chapter, and that you guys liked it, as well. And now, it's time for another battle in the arena! This time, with our favorite Boy Wonder!

I hope you enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

The sun rose from the horizon, giving life to the usually unsettling business of Steel City. It didn't matter to the people that it was early as early can get, they would wake up in the middle of the night if it meant seeing a battle in the arena.

And this morning, was no exception.

Once word had spread that "The Prince of Gotham" Richard Grayson was facing Xavier Redd, people lined up to see it. The arena was full almost as quickly as the announcement had been made. Everyone was excited for this bout!

Especially Richard.

But Brother Blood wasn't about to let Richard go out and fight in the same suit he had been wearing for two days. No, he provided something for him.

To say it was 'colorful', would be an understatement. When he saw it, Richard couldn't decide whether to go fight in it, or stand out in the street and pretend to be a traffic light. It had the same colors as a traffic light; red, green, yellow, and even a black cape and cowl, with steel-toed boots to match. Not only that, but it also had an insignia, a yellow 'R' inside of a black circle, over the right breast. And to top it all off, there was even a mask. A white and black domino mask to go right over his eyes.

Richard was, at first, skeptical. But rather than face the wrath of Brother Blood, in whatever psycho fashion he could come up, Richard decided to try it on. Spandex were _really_ uncomfortable.

After Dr. Light ordered him to go to the armory, Richard began to think. As he sat upon a bench, overlooking the many assortment of weapons available for his choosing, and the mask in his hand, all he could think about, was Kori.

He had yet to even speak to her since they arrived. Sure, they had met in the med-bay, but Gar's health was more important than trying to engage in a conversation. And they had only exchanged smiles during the party. He missed her, and he knew she missed him.

That's why he was both happy, and nervous, for this battle against Xavier. If he won, he would take one step further to achieving freedom, and the glory in defeating that punk. But if he lost, he would feel ashamed, and let Kori down.

That's why he needed to win, not just for him, or for the others, but for Kori. No matter what obstacle was put in front of him, he would take it down.

With his mind set on winning, Richard donned the mask, now hiding his ocean blue eyes behind the strip of black and white. He stood from the bench, walking over to the racks and walls that held a vast number of weapons. Everything from swords and shields, spears, hammers, even throwing knives, there was everything. There was even a yellow belt.

After taking careful consideration, and trying to deduce which weapons would work in his favor, Richard finally decided.

It wasn't long until Dr. Light showed up.

"You two are making history today." he said. "The H.I.V.E. has never organized a non-meta battle in the arena. You and Xavier shall put on quite the show."

"I don't care about putting on a show." Richard replied. "I only care about gaining freedom."

Dr. Light chuckled, a half-smile appearing, "That will be more difficult than you think. Sometimes, things don't always go as you planned, and in many cases, you have the option to surrender."

"I'll never do that."

"But if you do, there is only one way."

Dr. Light raised his right hand.

"Raise your hand, and the battle will be done."

Pushing the thought of ever surrendering, to anyone, behind him, Richard stormed past Dr. Light. He wasn't about to surrender, not when he had a chance to save Kori.

Brother Blood and the Headmistress sat in their chairs upon the balcony, overlooking the arena, and its crowd. They, too, were just as excited for this battle, but they decided to keep it cool.

"The crowd is very anxious to see this fight." said the Headmistress.

"As am I." Blood replied. "Today will mark the day Richard regrets humiliating me. Though, I guess I should be happy, seeing as how it wasn't in front of our missing friend."

"Headmaster." Rachel's voice caught their attention.

Standing in the doorway of the balcony, was an old, refined gentlemen, with quite the strange shade of gray for his skin color, as well as his suit. He was a balding man, besides the small, white hair curtain on the back of his head that traveled to the middle of his neck. His eyes also looked like two black pools of darkness. If nothing else about this man seemed scary, his eyes would definitely more than make up for that.

"Headmaster. Headmistress." the man greeted them.

"Wintergreen!" Blood stood from his chair, "What brings you here?" he extended his hand to shake, but Wintergreen merely ignored him.

"I'm here on business. Word spread of the so-called "Prince of Gatham's" fight, so I was sent here to investigate."

Wintergreen sauntered over to the Headmistress' chair, giving a polite bow to her in greetings. She obliged with a nod, and even a small smile, if you can believe it.

"Wait! You were sent here?" Blood questioned.

Wintergreen looked at Blood, "Yes. By your friend. He said he was busy with his work, so he sent me."

Whatever hope Brother Blood held inside of him, was instantly crushed.

"So, he's not here?"

Wintergreen shook his head, "I'm afraid not."

All Blood wanted to do at that moment, was push Wintergreen over the edge of the balcony, and hope the fall would, at least, cripple him. He didn't want this old corpse, he wanted...! But he knew he couldn't do that. He had to stay on his good side, and whether he liked it or not, he had to deal with Wintergreen.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention." Wintergreen said, sounding a bit uneasy. "Someone else will be joining us this..."

"MORNING!" that shrill voice... NO! Not her! Oh, PLEASE, not her!

"Kitten has arrived!"

DAMN IT!

"Kitten! So wonderful to see you!" Blood greeted the blonde, trying to sound as happy as he could.

"It's wonderful to see you, too!" Kitten replied. Much like last night, the girl donned pink. A lot of pink. Only, instead of wearing a dress, she simply decided to put on a sweater, some jeans, and shoes. The girl walked to the edge of the balcony, opposite of Wintergreen, and marveled at the size of the arena.

"This place is huge!" she exclaimed.

"Yes. It is." said the Headmistress, trying to hide her annoyance for the obnoxious girl. "Kori, Rachel! Go grab some chairs for our guests!"

The girls, who were standing at the doorway, quickly ran inside to grab some chairs. They reappeared as quickly as they disappeared, carrying two chairs, equal to those of Blood's and the Headmistress' thrones. Once the chairs were settled, Wintergreen and Kitten sat down. Wintergreen next to the Headmistress, and Kitten next to Brother Blood.

"So, what brings you here, Kitten?" Blood asked.

"I came to see the fight, of course! It's not every day you see two non-meta's fight in the arena! Especially if one of them is Richard Grayson!" she sighed dreamily, "He's just so handsome."

Rachel instantly sensed anger, but from where? Wintergreen was fine, the Headmistress and Brother Blood were just annoyed, Kitten couldn't stop talking, so that just left... Kori.

If looks could kill, Kitten would be certainly be a victim. The way Kori looked like she wanted to maim Kitten, actually surprised Rachel. She figured Kori for this always happy, go-lucky girl. But now... she was rather afraid of the Tamaranean. One mention of Richard, and all of Kori's sense of joy flew right out the window.

_Kori, calm down._

_I cannot! She is speaking horrible things about Richard!  
_

_She's just a spoiled princess who thinks she can get him, don't worry. She has no chance.  
_

_But...  
_

_Kori. I know how you feel about Richard, but keep your anger in check.  
_

After a few moments of silence, Kori finally calmed down.

_There you go. And for what it's worth, you have a chance with Richard than she ever will._

Kori smiled in appreciation, and even received a smile from Rachel. Her attention was then turned to the roar of the crowd, as Brother Blood stood from his chair, preparing to introduce the combatants.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today, we have a history-making affair! Two warriors will step into the arena! Two of the finest non-meta's this city has ever seen!" he gestured to the left of the arena, "First, I give to you, the Prince of Gotham! The one, the only, Richard Grayson!"

Richard stepped out of his entrance-way, paying no heed to the roaring laughter of the crowd. He walked to the middle of the arena, facing the balcony. He scanned the area for Kori, until his masked eyes finally met her emerald orbs.

Kori's heart fluttered with joy at the sight of seeing Richard again. She didn't care about the outfit he was wearing, all that mattered, was that he was here.

"Oh, Richie-poo!" Kitten called out, ceasing all happiness Kori and Richard felt instantly, "You look so hot in those spandex!"

Kori's face grew beat red, but not from embarrassment. No, she was pissed! She wanted to tear this girl's head off for trying to woo Richard!

But the young billionaire payed no attention to the blonde girl obnoxiously cheering him on. He noticed Kori's anger, and gave her a look that simply read, 'calm down.' She did, and he nodded his head.

"And his opponent!" Blood continued, "I give to you, Xavier Redd!"

The crowd cheered in applause as the dark horse walked out. Richard couldn't believe what he was seeing! Xavier was clad in all black, head-to-toe, a belt wound around his waist. His ripped cape fluttered as he moved to where Richard was standing, and in his gray-gloved hands, was a mask. It resembled that of a skull, with the same insignia emblazoned on his chest, a stylized red 'X' that cut over the left eye.

Both combatants stood in the middle of the arena. They stared each other down, Richard with his eyes like daggers, and Xavier with the same smug smile on his face.

"Hey, kid. Nice outfit." Xavier chuckled. "You lose a bet?"

Richard remained silent.

"Don't worry. Your embarrassment'll be over, I promise. And then maybe, after this, I can have some fun with your cutie over there."

Richard's eyes grew with rage behind his mask.

"Ready..." Blood commanded, but before he could start the fight, Richard went for the first punch. Xavier dodged the first, then the second, then every punch that was thrown afterwards.

Blood growled with anger, how dare he interrupt again!

"Ooh! Looks like Richie-poo wants to show-off his skills for me!" Kitten said without giving any thought to the three elder's sitting next to her, giving her annoyed stares.

"Blood, sit down." the Headmistress requested. Blood did sit down, regretfully though.

"He interrupted me again!" he said though gritted teeth.

"Calm yourself, Brother Blood." Wintergreen requested. "Let us see what Richard can do."

Richard continued throwing punch after punch, but Xavier continued to dodge them with ease, until he managed to grip Richard's arm. Now, it was his turn. Xavier landed a punch to Richard's stomach, then a knee to his face. Richard stumbled back in a dazed state for only a moment, before receiving a kick across the jaw that sent him spinning back and falling on the ground face-first.

The roar of the crowd enticed Xavier, and he decided to do a little show-boating by raising his arms like a God would, relishing in his moment of glory. He was so enamored with the crowd, that he almost forgot about Richard. It was only he saw the billionaire charging at him with a dagger, did he remember.

Richard tried striking Xavier as many times as he could, but no matter what he did, Xavier would continue to dodge. He decided to try and sweep the leg with a low spin-kick, but Xavier merely jumped over that, and landed an uppercut across his chin.

Richard stumbled back, but had no moment to retaliate, as Xavier landed another punch to his stomach, and proceeded to flip Richard over his body with a monkey-flip. Richard flew over Xavier like an arch, and landed hard on his back.

As Richard began to stir, he only caught a brief glimpse of Xavier's foot coming down upon him from above. In a moment, Richard managed to catch Xavier's foot in his hands, and throw his opponent off to the side, quickly rolling to one knee. He reached inside his utility belt, and threw a small throwing-knife. The blade flew at top-speed for Xavier's head, but then something happened that made Richard, and the entire crowd, gasp at once.

Xavier vanished!

Like a lightning bolt, Xavier just disappeared! Richard looked in ever direction for his opponent, but couldn't find a trace anywhere!

Then suddenly, in an instant moment, a gray-gloved hand rammed itself right into Richard's face. The impact sent Richard stumbling back, but only before he received another punch across the face. Then another. Then another. Finally, Xavier ended his onslaught with a spin-kick connecting right to Richard's head.

Richard was sent twirling back a few feet away, bouncing off the ground before coming to a halt, lying on his stomach.

Xavier, continuing to be proud of his work, boasted to the crowd once more.

Richard slowly tried picking himself up, ignoring the pain shooting through his body, and the blood dripping down his chin. He wasn't about to lose. He needed to win!

Without a second thought, Richard charged again. This time, Xavier had his back turned. This was it! His moment to strike!

But in a flash, everything Richard hoped for was gone. Like a sixth sense, it was as if Xavier knew what was going to happen. The moment Richard was just a foot away from him, Xavier turned around, his hand placed against Richard's chest, and unleashed a surge of red electricity through his body.

Richard screamed in pain as the electricity coursed through him with unimaginable pain. The surge lasted only for a moment, but the pain was still present, and now he was weak. Richard hunched over, barely able to stand.

Seeing this as a moment to capitalize, Xavier took advantage. In one swift motion, he back-flipped with a moonsault kick, and Richard was sent flying back before landing hard on his back.

The crowd roared in applause as Xavier stood over his fallen adversary.

Now, there was only one more thing to do.

Xavier knelt down to one knee. He picked Richard up by the hair to raise him in a sitting position. He extended his free arm out, and the red-x on his hand extended itself to resemble a small blade. He placed his arm underneath Richard throat, and now was only waiting for the command.

"Told you your embarrassment would be over soon." he whispered into Richard's ear, and looked up towards the balcony.

As the crowd roared and chanted the word, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" over and over again, all that was on Richard's mind right now, was Kori. As he looked up at the balcony with his dreary eyes, looking at her horror-stricken face, he immediately realized something.

He was about to die.

But what could he do? He was too weak, but he couldn't let Kori down. His mind searched and searched for ways to get out, but in the end, they all came to one.

Surrender.

Richard then realized that Dr. Light was right. Things didn't go as he had planned. He had planned to win, to save Kori. But now, all that seemed out of reach. That only left him, with one option.

Slowly, weakly, Richard raised his right hand.

The sign came as nothing more than a disappointment, not just to the crowd, but to everyone sitting on the balcony. They wanted to see a fight, and a clear winner. But instead, they got a squash match, with a sign of weakness to end it. But Blood couldn't let the crowd think this was just a squash.

"Richard fought well!" Blood announced, trying to ease the troubled crowd, "He will live, to fight another day. Your winner... Red-X!" unfortunately, that did nothing to cease the crowd's disappointment, as well as Wintergreen's.

"Hmm. I expected more." said the gentlemen, who decided enough was enough, and just walked away.

"I can't believe it." Kitten said, also disappointed into leaving a bitter Headmistress, and a smiling Headmaster.

Even though the crowd was upset over the outcome, Blood was not. To Blood, this was the perfect sense of karma. Richard had humiliated him.

And now it was Richard, who was humiliated.


	8. Sentenced

**Author's Note: **Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I'm glad to see everyone's still enjoying the story! And I'm also happy to announce that, in this chapter, there will be a few surprises! New characters? A plot-twist? Who knows!

I hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Morning had finally passed, the sun shining through Steel City like a watchful eye. It had been a few hours after the battle between Richard and Xavier took place, but both the disappointment, and the failure, still lingered.

Richard sat in his cell, now dressed in his freshly-cleaned suit, with his head bowed upon his laced hands. He felt like trash. He felt like a failure. He felt like a loser. It might as well have been his title. 'Richard Grayson, The Failure of Gotham.'

But even with the shame, the disappointment, and the probable name-calling, nothing hurt Richard more, than feeling as though he failed Kori. He promised he would save her, promised he would fight for her. But when he finally had the chance, when it seemed as though fate was smiling upon him... he failed. He felt miserable. He didn't know what Kori was feeling, either. He probably didn't even want to know.

That was when he was met with a surprise visitor entering his cell.

"Kori?" he stood from his bed in surprise.

"Richard!" Kori immediately encased Richard in a loving hug. At first, Richard was shocked. He figured she would be upset. Yet, here she was, hugging him almost for dear life.

He, eventually, hugged her back. It felt wonderful to be in her arms again. He never had the chance to speak to her when they first arrived here. Sure, they met in the med-bay, but Gar's well-being was more important than idle chit-chat. And they only managed to glance and smile at each other during the party. But now, they were together again!

"I was sent by Brother Blood to reassure your well-being! I have missed you, Richard." Kori whispered.

"I've missed you too, Kori. I'm sorry."

Kori reeled back, "For what?"

Richard sighed sadly, "I lost. I lost my match!" he separated himself from the Tamaranean, running a hand through his hair in frustration with his back turned to her.

"Richard, it is ok!" Kori pleaded, trying to reach out and touch his shoulder, but he refused to believe it.

"No, Kori! It's not!" he said, pounding his fists against the walls, then turning back to face Kori, "I needed to win this battle! Not just for me, or for the others, but for you! I needed to win, for you!"

"Richard..."

"I'm not just fighting to gain my freedom! I'm fighting for yours, too! And when I finally have the chance to do it, I failed!"

"Richard..." Kori was trying to calm him down, but Richard continued to shout and pace in every direction.

"I failed myself! I failed our friends! And I failed you!"

"Richard!" she finally managed to make him stop once she cupped her hands on his cheeks, her eyes pleaded with him to stop. "You fought bravely."

Bravely!?

"I was humiliated, Kori. I cost us our freedom."

She gave him a loving smile, "That does not matter to me." she then hugged him once more, burying her head in the crook of his neck, "What matters to me, is that you are still alive, and I thank X'hal for that."

Richard was in shock! He had just been humiliated in front of an entire city, brought shame upon himself, and cost he and his friends a chance at freedom. Yet Kori, this beautiful, exotic young woman, who did nothing but serve a tyrant against her will, still found happiness in knowing that he was still alive!

Richard gently wrapped his arms around Kori, and now found himself at peace. He wished he could stay like this forever, in her arms. Kori did, as well. She savored the feel of Richard's arms around her waist, as hers were snaked around his neck. She found absolute comfort in his presence.

"Kori." but all good things come to an end. In this case, it was Rachel who caused it, standing by the doorway.

They both separated, regretfully, and Kori slowly walked back out of Richard's cell with a saddened expression. Rachel waited until Kori was out of ear-shot, and turned her attention towards Richard.

"She cares about you, you know. A lot." she stated simply.

Richard nodded, "I know."

"I think it's a good thing you're fighting for her."

"I'm fighting for you too, you know." he assured her.

"Yeah, and Gar, Victor, and I are happy for that. But I know you're mostly doing it for Kori. You love her, don't you?"

This time, Richard remained silent, and found a sudden fascination with the floor. But Rachel knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Just so you know, I'm not good with the whole 'feelings' thing."

Richard chuckled, "That makes two of us."

"But if you ask me, I think you should tell her. You're a good man, no matter what those dumb tabloids say."

Richard raised an eyebrow, "You read the tabloids?"

Oops.

"Just tell her."

Now it was time for Rachel to make her leave. Once the automatic door closed itself, Richard sat on his bed once again, in the same position as before, only this time, he wasn't thinking about his loss. Now, he was thinking of something else.

_So Rachel reads tabloids. Huh._

* * *

As the hours passed, it soon became time for lunch. Everyone's second least favorite time of day, next to battling in the arena. Lunch in the mess-hall usually wasn't a fun time, not because the people were bad, but because the food was bad. It was about as typical as prison food could get; mashed potatoes, baked beans, a juice box, some sort of oatmeal-type thing, and worst of all, a 'surprise meal' for every day.

Today's was chicken.

One they had their trays full, Richard and Cyborg looked for a table. The place was super crowded, everywhere they looked, someone was occupying a seat. How were they supposed to find somewhere to sit?

"Hey, guys! Over here!" a voice called to them.

It was the red-haired boy Richard met at the party. He waved them over, and they agreed. Once they got to the table, they sat across from him.

"Thanks." said Victor.

"No problem!"

"You were at the party yesterday." Richard pointed out.

The red-head nodded, "Yeah, until that spoiled brat pushed me away. Name's Wally West, but you can call me Kid-Flash." he extended his hand. Cyborg accepted.

"Victor Stone, but you can call me Cyborg."

"Nice to meet ya, Cy." Kid-Flash responded before turning his attention to Richard, "And you, are the famous Richard Grayson."

Richard nodded, "That's right. Though now, I'm sure I'll be more famous for surrendering in battle than anything else."

"Yeah, sorry that happened to you."

"Thanks."

"Hey, Kid-Flash," Cyborg spoke, "If you don't mind my asking, how did you get here?"

Kid-Flash sighed, "You're not even gonna believe this. See, I'm a speedster. I can run as fast as a bolt of lightning! Now, you're probably wondering, "How did the H.I.V.E. catch him?" Well, I'll tell you."

Kid-Flash leaned against the table, "Land-mines."

Both Richard and Cyborg had questionable looks, "Land-mines?" Richard asked.

Kid-Flash nodded, "Yeah. Ran right into them, was electrocuted in a second. Woke up a few hours later in a truck, got sent to the arena, fought off a electric monster, and here I am."

"So, how long have you been here?" Victor asked.

"Almost a year."

"So you must know quite a lot about this place." Richard assumed.

"The only thing we need to know is that we fight for Brother Blood, and we listen to Dr. Light's orders."

"What happens if we don't listen to Dr. Light?" Victor wondered.

"If you go talk back to him, he'll have you stay in the courtyard all night. If you start a fight, he'll have you whipped."

"Whipped?" Richard questioned the word.

"He'll tie you to a post, and lash you on the back with this whip made of energy. It's pretty nasty. But..."

Kid-Flash's face turned deadly serious as he leaned against the table.

"If you ever, and I mean _ever_, use your powers in the prison... you'll get sent to The Crypt."

"The Crypt?"

"It's a small arena, built underneath this prison." Kid-Flash pointed downward, "Once you're sent down there, you have to fight your way back up here."

An arena... built underneath the prison?

"What's it like?" Richard asked.

"It's where the rules get thrown out the window. In The Crypt, you're nothing but a deadman, both figuratively, and literally."

"What do you mean, 'literally?'" Cyborg asked.

"The only way to get out of The Crypt, is to use your powers. You used your powers to get there, it's only fitting you use them to get out. Problem is, sometimes, those powers end up killing people."

"Wait," Richard questioned, "How do they get sent to The Crypt using their powers if..."

"If we have the collars on?" Kid-Flash finished his sentence, and answered, "Every once in a while, Dr. Light puts an exhibition between us, without the collars. He tempts us by saying if someone uses their powers, we get sent to The Crypt. And as you know, we can't use them, other than in the arena."

"And sometimes, they just can't help it." Richard concluded.

"That's right. I was one of them, the first time it happened. And let me tell you, it wasn't fun. Nearly had both my legs broken."

"Wow." was all Cyborg could say.

Kid-Flash nodded, "Exactly. So, whatever you do, just remember: try to resist."

* * *

After lunch ended, Dr. Light ordered the prisoner's to the courtyard for a surprise. Once they all arrived, Richard and Cyborg were elated to see a certain familiar face.

"Gar!" they exclaimed, running to their friend.

Gar opened his arms, smiling a huge smile, "Guess who's back, dudes?"

He gave Richard a bro-hug, and received a noogie from Cyborg, "Good to see ya again, Grass Stain!"

The three ceased their rejoicing when Dr. Light spoke, "It's good to see you back on your feet, Gar. You've come back at a great time."

"What do you mean?" Gar asked.

Dr. Light turned back to the prisoners, "Today, we will be having a special exhibition. This time..." he looked over his shoulder to Gar, Cyborg and Richard, "Without the collars."

Dread immediately washed over Richard and Cyborg, exchanging worried glances. It was just like Kid-Flash had said! He was going to try to send them to The Crypt! They looked at Gar with the same worry, while he looked puzzled.

"Wait," he said, "So... we're going to use our powers?"

His response from Dr. Light was in the form of a chuckle as he turned to face him, "Only if you don't possess the will to resist."

Gar's brows furrowed in more confusion. What was he talking about?

Dr. Light continued, "Today, you will be pitted against each other. Your collars will remain inactive until I say so. That means, you have the option of using your powers. But, if you do... you won't like what awaits you."

Gar's ears dropped, and shoulders slumped. _So, if I use my powers, I get snuffed?! _he screamed in his mind. _What kind of psycho game is this?!_

"Now, let me pair you up."

Once Dr. Light had everyone paired together, he stood from a distance away, not wanting to be in caught in the crossfire of a possible meta-attack. After looking over the potential groups, he gave the command.

"Begin!"

Everyone immediately attacked the other. Punches and kicks, dodges and throws, it was like a war was happening inside the prison. It would have been considered a prison riot if someone had shown up at the wrong time.

Most of the pairs were well-placed, in Dr. Light's opinion. Richard's partner was African-American, about the same height, with a shaved head of black hair. He was clad in a sleeveless black shirt and pants, and strangely, fire-proof gloves. Richard didn't know what to make of the guy, and he couldn't ask him anything while trying to dodge his attacks, which he quickly retaliated at.

Cyborg's partner was very well-built, like a super-soldier. His lean body could rival the metallic teen's own, even without all the cybernetics. The man was just as tall, too, wearing an olive-green tank-top with black pants and combat boots. He was also a red-head, just like Kid-Flash, only the man's eyes were green, almost like Kori's, but darker. With a body, and appearance, like this, anybody would have been intimidated. But not Cyborg. Every punch the man threw at him, Cyborg would throw back just as hard.

Everyone's partner was well-picked by Dr. Light... everyone, but Gar's. His partner...

Was Xavier.

Not only was Gar having a difficult time trying to land a punch on this guy, Xavier was taunting him, too! Even after catching Gar's fist in his hand, and kicking him square in the stomach, he still taunted the green boy.

"Aw, c'mon, Gar! You gotta do better than that!" he mocked the boy trying picking himself up off his back. Gar was desperately trying to keep his cool, but the longer he did, the more irritating it became. Just like how irritating it was that everything he tried to do, Xavier would just brush it off. Every punch, every kick, all Xavier did was step aside like it was nothing. Pretty soon, all Xavier had to do to get gar off his feet again, was sweep the leg, and the green elf was lying n his back once again, and Xavier continued to taunt.

"You gotta do better than that. I mean, where's the cheetah we saw a few days ago? Where is the giant T-Rex!? You know you wanna transform."

Gar knew what Xavier was trying to do, he was trying to infuriate him into transforming, trying to use his power. Well, that wasn't going to work. He picked himself up, dusted the dirt off his clothes, and stood in a fighting stance.

_I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna do it._

Gar charged forward, throwing a fury of punches. None of them hit their target. All Xavier did, was catch his fist, and flip the boy over his shoulder judo-style, still holding Gar's arm up behind his back.

"C'mon, just do it." Xavier whispered. "Transform. Free the zoo! Let's see some lions! Or maybe a gorilla! How about a bear?"

Xavier could clearly see he was getting to the boy. Good. More fun for him. He released Gar's arm and stepped back a few feet. While Gar was picking himself up, Xavier quickly thought of a better way to get Gar riled up.

"You know, I don't suppose you've met Rachel, have you?"

The mention of Rachel's name was enough to gain Gar's attention.

"Yeah, she's helped me with a few injuries over the past few years." Xavier continued, and chuckled, "And I gotta tell ya, when she healed me, I made sure to thank her."

Gar's blood was boiling at this point, and he actually snarled in anger. This prick had no right to speak about Rachel!

Xavier saw the frustration on his face, now all he had to do, was let the animal loose.

"And when I was done with my thanks, she made sure to give me her... appreciation."

That was it. The nail in the coffin. Every bit of anger Gar was holding inside him was then unleashed, in the form of a massive bear, standing on its hind legs and roaring as loud as it could.

Everybody immediately stopped to look at the transformation. The large bear lurched towards Xavier, towering over the young man with killer intent in its eyes. The animal raised one paw in the air, preparing to strike with absolute fury. But the bear had no chance to attack. The second it was about to, its back was immediately assaulted with a shot of energy. The force of the energy knocked the bear out, and made it revert back to Gar, as he fell to his knees before landing face-first onto the floor.

Dr. Light stood over the fallen boy, a look of disappointment, and disdain, on his face. He placed his foot underneath Gar's arm and chest, and merely kicked the boy onto his back.

"I warned you that if you used your powers, you will suffer the consequences! And now, you will be sent to a place, where animals like you roam free."

Cyborg and Richard looked on in horror as Dr. Light furiously commanded...

"Send him to The Crypt!"


	9. The Crypt

**Author's Note: **Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I just want to give a little insight about this chapter. The Crypt, itself, is inspired by The Pits in the HBO show "Spartacus: Blood and Sand", much like how the story is inspired by the show itself. If any of you have seen the show, you'll probably know what I'm talking about. If you haven't seen the show, I implore you to watch it! It's pretty graphic, both in deaths and sexuality. I like to call it the Roman TV-version of "300". It's still a great show!

Now, do you know what time it is?

It's time for Gar's moment of glory!... and maybe more.

I hope you guys enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Everything to Gar was just a blur. Just splotches of colors with muffled sounds coming from all directions. He could see the two blobs in front of him becoming clearer. They soon came to be H.I.V.E. soldiers, carrying his limp body by the arms as his feet dragged across the floor.

Gar's head dropped, aching as though someone had hit it with a hammer, "Where am I?" he asked, his voice weary.

He received no answer. The H.I.V.E. soldier's had arrived at a pair of doors. They opened them, and Gar slowly lifted his head to the sound of hundreds of voices echoing at once.

"The Crypt." said one of the H.I.V.E. soldier's before they both threw him inside.

Gar lifted his head up off the floor, and what he saw made his stomach churn.

The entire area was, at least, two stories tall, dimly lit, despite the giant fire bowls set across from each other. The upper wall was decorated with jail cells, some large holding a group, and some small holding just one. They were all screaming and shouting, pumping their fists through the bars in excitement and anger.

They all had their eyes set on the arena below them. It wasn't as large as the other arena. In fact, it only managed just to hold two people, who were already in it.

The man who seemed to be winning... didn't exactly look like a man. He had arms and legs, but his appearance, it made him look like a moth. A giant moth.

The moth man had his sharp hands gripped around his opponents head. His opponent was large... really large. Not large, as in tall and muscular, no. Large, as in fat. With orange hair, and sideburns. Not to mention an overcoat and... a Jedi outfit.

The moth man had the fat man right where he wanted him. With his fist reeled back, he delivered a punishing blow to the face, sending the fat down to the floor with a black eye, and a bloody nose.

The other inmates cheered, and the fat man was carried off the arena floor like a carcass. It was time to declare the winner, and the only one to do that was sitting on a throne in the middle of The Crypt, right in front of the arena. He wasn't so much a man, more of an ape. A white, pointy-eared ape, with a red amulet hung loosely around his neck.

"Your winner..." a voice roared from above a balcony. "Killer Moth!"

The inmates cheered once more. Gar picked himself up off the floor, his heart sinking at everything his eyes laid upon. People getting beat to a pulp, jails cells, and some of the ugliest guys he had ever seen. It was at that moment, that Gar came to a realization.

"I'm in Hell."

* * *

It had been after Dr. Light sent Gar to The Crypt, did Richard and Cyborg storm into Brother Blood's office, with Dr. Light ahead of them. They argued and yelled at the overseer on the way, who didn't seem to care at all. Now, it was Brother Blood who was receiving a mouthful from the two.

"It wasn't Gar's fault!" Richard shouted.

"Yeah!" Cyborg agreed. "Xavier was talking trash about him until he started mentioning Rachel!"

Blood's expression remained blank as he sat in his chair. He looked at his overseer, "Is this true, Dr. Light?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what these two are talking about. I only saw Gar transform, and I acted accordingly." Dr. Light answered, simply.

"That's a lie and you know it!" Cyborg growled, getting right in front of Dr. Light's face. He wanted nothing more than to rip the man's head off at that point.

"I suggest you step away, Cyborg." warned Dr. Light. "Unless you want to join your friend."

"Cyborg." Richard put a hand on the metallic teen's arm, trying to steer him away from any violent thoughts. Reluctantly, Cyborg stepped away from Dr. Light, not taking his eyes off him.

"I understand both of you are upset about your friend..." Brother Blood spoke. "But I must agree with Dr. Light. He didn't see Xavier doing anything to make Gar transform. Therefore, he is right to send Gar to The Crypt."

"It's not right!" Richard pounded his fist on the table. "Xavier disrespected Rachel and that set him off! Rachel is our friend, and he has no right to do that! Just like Gar has no right to be in The Crypt!"

Brother Blood sat in silence, spinning his chair the opposite direction, looking out the window with his hands laced under his chin. He sat deep in thought, trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation. Sure, he didn't like Gar, or Cyborg, or Richard, or any meta's for that matter, but he knew how dangerous The Crypt really was. He also knew that gar was favorite, as evidence by his victory when he first arrived.

He then thought of an idea. Nobody has really seen Gar in action, aside from his time with Cyborg and Richard. If he were to be released early from The Crypt, he could exploit his talents in the real arena. But he couldn't just ask for his release. Gar did break the rules after all.

There was only one way.

"I have an idea." he said, spinning in his chair to face the boys. "Gar will still remain in The Crypt. But not for long." a smile crept on his face, "Not if you two win your match."

Richard and Cyborg's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?" Richard asked.

"If you two fight together in the arena tomorrow at high noon, and win your match, then Gar will be released from The Crypt... provided he isn't dead first."

Richard passed a glance at Cyborg, wondering if he was feeling the same feeling. Neither of them trusted Blood, and fighting in the arena to save Gar sounds like he just wanted all three of them dead right then and there. But, if it was to save Gar...

"If we win..." Richard's voice was low, threatening even, "You promise you'll release Gar?"

Another smile, "But of course. I always keep my word."

The two teens stared at Blood intently, as if studying him to make sure he wasn't lying. He looked like he was telling the truth, but they couldn't be sure, so they decided to leave. Slowly, but surely, without taking an eye off either of the two men, Richard and Cyborg exited Brother Blood's office, with Cyborg closing the door.

"You think we he'll actually keep his word?" Richard asked as they walked down the hall.

"I doubt it." Cyborg answered. "But what choice do we have? If we have to risk our lives to save Gar, I guess we'll have to wait and see."

They arrived at the elevator, the one that took them to Blood's office tower. The second they arrived, the doors had already opened. Inside brought both happiness, and anger, in the two boys. It was the Headmistress, with Rachel and Kori beside her.

"What are you two doing here?" asked the Headmistress.

"We needed to talk to Blood." Cyborg answered. "Dr. Light sent Gar to The Crypt, and we need to get him out."

A sudden feeling came over Rachel. But she couldn't place it. Sadness? Dread? Shock? Why would she feel those at the news of Gar being sent to The Crypt? She knew how dangerous The Crypt was, and had seen a lot of prisoner's get sent there with just a hint of remorse. But now, she was overwhelmed, though she tried her best to hide it. Why was she feeling this way now?

"The Crypt?" the Headmistress repeated the name to see if she heard right.

The boys nodded.

"I see. Kori, Rachel. You may part with Richard and Cyborg. I have a little business to discuss with Brother Blood."

"Yes, Headmistress." only Kori was the one to say it, and she passed a worried glance to the silent Rachel.

"Rachel?" the Headmistress questioned, looking over her shoulder. Almost instantly, Rachel replied back.

"Yes, Headmistress."

"Good."

With that the Headmistress strolled past the boys and down the hall. Once she was gone behind Blood's office door, Cyborg and Richard entered the elevator with Kori and Rachel. Richard pushed the button to the bottom floor, the doors closed, and the elevator went down.

"Is it true?" Rachel asked, gaining everyone's attention. "Is Gar really in The Crypt?"

Cyborg nodded, "Yeah, but it wasn't his fault."

"Then who's fault was it, then?" Rachel wondered.

"Xavier." Richard spoke the name coldly. "He kept teasing him to transform. Let out his inner-beast. Gar tried to resist, but it eventually came to much when..." he trailed off after that, not sure if he should finish the sentence.

"When what?" Rachel asked.

Richard merely looked at the floor, not wanting to say anything else. So, Cyborg took over for him.

"Xavier started talking about you."

Rachel gaped, "What?"

"He said you've healed his injuries the amount of time he's been here. And after he thanked you, he said you..." now it was Cyborg who trailed off this time.

"I what?" Rachel asked in a demanding tone. She wanted to know what was said.

Richard and Cyborg glanced at each other, than down at the floor. It wasn't until Richard sighed, did Rachel finally get an answer.

"Whenever he thanked you... you would... have sex with him."

Rachel stood frozen, but that soon turned into anger and fury.

"WHAT?!"

Rachel's eyes changed from purple to black in a second. The lights in the elevator started flickering, and a loud creaking sound made itself known. That sound made the others nervous, especially since it quickly made the elevator stop abruptly. Everybody except Rachel staggered, trying to stay balanced once the elevator stopped.

Everything seemed okay. No explosions, no crazy portal dimension, no-

_BRRRR-UUUUMMM!_

Uh-oh.

In a flash, everybody was holding onto the railing for dear life. The elevator was falling! Richard, Cyborg and Kori were beginning to panic. They didn't know what to do! Rachel was in a trance, and every second she was, the closer they were to death! This wasn't good! They had to snap her out of it!

"Rachel, stop!" Richard shouted. "You're going to kill us all!"

Surprisingly, that seemed to work. Rachel's eyes revered back to their normal purple, and the elevator slowly, but surely, began to stop. Finally, it did, and turned itself on to continue its way down. Rachel's head was spinning, so she had to lean her back against the railing just to keep from falling. She never liked it when she used her powers. Something always goes wrong.

"You feeling alright, Rae?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm fine," Rachel answered quickly, raising her hand to tell him to back-off, "Just... please tell me you're joking."

Cyborg and Richard shook their heads, "Sorry, Rae."

"After Xavier said those things, Gar just lost it, and tried to attack Xavier. That was when Dr. Light blasted him in the back, and sent him to The Crypt."

Rachel's emotion were going haywire, and she didn't know why. Well, she knew, but that was because of the Xavier thing. She was furious with Xavier for saying those lies about her. And she was particularly genuine with Gar trying to defend her. And now she knew how she felt about Gar being sent to The Crypt.

Scared.

Scared for him. He wasn't exactly the strongest, or tallest, of the inmates. Sure, he could make himself stronger and taller, but the guys in The Crypt... they were monsters. They didn't care how big, or how small, you were. To them, you were just one thing, a victim.

She couldn't understand why she was scared for him, though. Maybe it was because he was nice to her, unlike all the other inmates? Maybe because she was impressed with the way he handled the H.I.V.E. when he first got here? She had no idea, and it was confusing her.

"Please..." Kori's voice broke her thoughts. "What is 'The Crypt?'"

Rachel answered, "It's where the H.I.V.E. puts the worst of the meta-human's in. It's like a second prison built below this one, with its own arena. It's not like the arena the boys fight in. There's no rules when it comes to The Crypt. There's no surrendering in, so you either win, or you die. Period."

Kori gasped, "That sounds horrible!" how could the H.I.V.E. authorize such a thing?

"Yeah, and the only way for Gar to get out of there, is by winning every single one of his matches."

"No, he doesn't." Richard spoke.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"When we told Brother Blood what had happened," Cyborg continued, "He said there was only one way we could get him out."

"How?" Kori wondered.

"Cyborg and I have to fight in the arena."

Kori and Rachel's eyes widened in horror.

"You what?!" Kori asked.

"You have to fight in the arena?"

Cyborg and Richard nodded, "Yeah, me and Richard are teaming up tomorrow at noon. If we win, then Gar get's released from The Crypt."

"And if you lose?" Rachel wondered.

Richard bowed his head, "Then Gar will have to fight his way out."

* * *

It felt as though his jaw had been broken the moment Gar's face was met with the fist. Spit flew out of the boy's mouth as he toppled over to the floor on his side. He had only just arrived, and already he was getting beaten up! It didn't help the fact that his opponent was Killer Moth.

"Come on. You seriously can't expect me to believe you can't fight back!"

Gar swabbed whatever spit was dribbling down his chin, and stood back on his feet, turning to face Killer Moth. In a moment, he transformed himself into ram, and charged at the moth man. Unfortunately, Killer Moth managed to step out of the way of the charging ram and catch it in his hands.

Killer Moth lifted Gar up over his head, and threw him down hard on the arena floor. He continued to stomp the ram in the mid-section, and kick him in the stomach repeatedly. Gar had changed back into his human-form, and was now clenching his stomach as Killer Moth, his back turned to the elf, had his arms raised in premature victory as the inmates cheered on.

But Killer Moth's praise didn't last long, as he immediately went back to work on Gar. He gripped Gar's head in his head, much like how he did to his other opponent, and lifted him up to his knees. Killer Moth looked at the inmates, raising his free arm high in the air, as if asking for approval. Of course, they welcomed it.

With his opponent battle-rotten, Killer Moth went in for the kill. He reeled his fist back, and threw a devastating punch, just like before.

But before his fist even made contact with Gar, the boy just... vanished. Completely vanished! Everyone looked on in confusion, even the white ape-man, with his eyes narrowed. Killer Moth looked around in every direction to find the boy, but proved to be useless.

"Where are you, boy?!" he shouted at nothing.

Unbeknownst to him, Gar was actually in front of him the whole time. As a tiny fly. Seeing the total confusion on Killer Moth's face as he tried to figure out where he was, Gar decided to take action. He transformed into kangaroo, and once Killer Moth turned around, gave him a flurry of fast punches.

Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch-punch-punch-punch-punch, a hop on the tail, a powerful double-kick to the chest, and Killer Moth was sent crashing down to the floor.

The inmates cheered and roared once more, pumping their fists through the bars in absolute hype. How this little green-bean managed to win, they didn't care. They just wanted to see somebody win!

"Your winner!" the ape-man proclaimed as the cheers grew louder.

Gar staggered on his feet, returning back to human-form again. He was still feeling the effects from the Killer Moth's attacks, but that was nothing to feeling the effects of victory. A sense of pride erupted inside Gar, a feeling he hadn't felt in days. It gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, he could survive this Hell-hole.

And maybe, get back at Xavier.

* * *

After securing his victory over Killer Moth, Gar was sent to a cell. Whether it was luck or not, he managed to get a single-bed. It didn't look very comfortable, though. It was chained to the wall, so there's a good chance it would break off. The bedsheets smelled of piss, and looked like they had been fished out of the nearest dump. The pillow... was a flour sack. An honest-to-God flour sack.

The rest of the room didn't look to cheery, either. The only light source were the two flaming bowls below. Neither did any justice. There was a toilet, that's good news! And a sink and mirror!... a broken one. It also didn't help that the walls space was small and narrow, as if the walls were about to close in and crush him at any mo...

Is that blood?

Though he hated to admit it, Gar wished he was back in his old cell. At least in there, it was clean! This... this is for an animal! And he wasn't an animal.

"Hey, kid." a voice broke out behind the right side of the wall where the bed stood. Gar, hesitantly, sat on the bed and rested his back on the wall so he could hear better.

"Yeah?"

"What's your name?" the voice asked. Gar was hesitant at first, but answered it anyway.

"Gar. What's yours?"

"Rancid. Johnny Rancid."

Gar let the name process in his head, and couldn't help but ask, "'Johnny Rancid?'" the name sounded like it belonged to one of those douche-bag type motorcyclists who try to act cool but they're not!

"Yeah, I used to be a biker, and came up with the name myself." Johnny answered proudly.

Well, what do you know? The poor guy was exactly what Gar was thinking! He probably had the long black hair, spiked gloves with tattoos all over his arms, a tank-top, some tight leather pants, and of course, the monster steel-toed boots.

"So, what are you in for, kid?"

Gar sighed, "I almost went ballistic with my powers. I would have done it, but I got knocked out and sent here."

"Woah." was all Johnny said.

"Yeah." Gar said, sadly. "What about you?"

"Same reason. Went ballistic when they tried to take away the money I earned in the arena. Been down here ever since."

"So... what exactly is this place?" Gar finally asked. "And who was the Monkey Man sitting there?"

Johnny Rancid chuckled again, "The 'Monkey man' is known as 'The Master' around here. He's like the second version of Brother Blood, only a lot more hairy. And this place..."

Gar could hear the tone in Rancid's voice lower, "This place is where we go, when we act out. When we lash out. When we don't abide by the rules. You see, out there, you're nothing but a puppet. You have to move when they tell you to move, speak when they want you to speak, and fight when they tell you to fight."

"But down here..." another chuckled erupted from Rancid, "Down here... you don't live by those rules. You do what needs to be done to survive. You can't wait to act on command like you do out there! You have to do it yourself!"

Another chuckle, "In here, it's all about primal instinct. And once you hit that primal instinct... it changes you, man. Out there, you're a puppet..."

"But in here... you're an animal."

Gar let the words from Johnny sink in for a moment. The thought of people calling him an animal unsettled him. He never liked to be called that, he was human being! And the fact that this place thrived off of animalistic tendencies scared him. He had ran from the H.I.V.E. because they thought of him as an animal, and now here he was, his own personal zoo.

He felt trapped inside his cell, caged in like a rat. The feeling that he would never see the light of day scared him, and being surrounded by all these inmates scared him even more. He needed to get out. He needed to get out, and fast.

"Hey, Johnny. How long have you been here again?"

It didn't take any time for Johnny to give him an answer.

"Three years."


	10. Beginning to Break

**Author's Note: **Hey, guys! I'm happy to see you're all enjoying the story! It's time to continue on into The Crypt with our favorite green prankster!

You might also see a surprise in the next chapter regarding Gar. In this chapter, however, I wanted to explore more of the 'animalistic' side of him, while trying to remain faithful to the way the cartoon portrayed it.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

Oh, and P.S.: JINX WILL APPEAR SOON! It really amazes me how much you guys want her in here! Don't get me wrong, she's awesome, but wow! XD

* * *

The hours passed, and Gar was still staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't slept at all. He didn't even know if it was night or day. He was too busy worrying about what he was going to have to do next in order to get out of here. He had no intention of staying here in this Hell-hole.

He began to think about his friends, and what they were doing. Were they planning on getting him out? As much as he was hoping for that, he figured that was impossible. He then thought about Rachel, and how she was feeling, if the news had spread to her at all. He wondered if she was worried about him, and what she might do to Xavier if she knew what he said about her. That would be fun to see!

His thoughts were broken once he heard his cell door being opened. Standing in the doorway, a H.I.V.E. soldier rudely demanded Gar to exit his cell, and head to the arena. Reluctantly, Gar stood up, walking out of his cell as the soldier escorted him across the walkway, down a flight of stairs, and to the lower area. There, the Master sat on his throne, watching Gar make his way across the arena from him, where other inmates stood.

The Master overlooked the inmates in silence, averting his eyes left and right. After a few moments, he finally spoke.

"Who shall be next in their quest to escape The Crypt?" he asked.

The inmates remained silent, which made Gar a little curious. Shouldn't they all be lining up to try and get out of here?

"No-one?" The Master asked again.

Still, everyone remained silent. Gar looked at all the inmates with a perplexed look on his face. Why were none of them willing to fight? Surely, they would all want their freedom back. Well, at least, freedom from _this_ place.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Gar decided that he would be the one to step up, and he did.

"I will."

A smile formed upon the Master's face.

"Good. Step forward, Gar."

Gar did what he was told, standing on the left side of the arena.

"I am pleased to see how well you fare this morning, shape-shifter. Because I have a special opponent in mind. You fared well against Killer Moth. But now, I believe it's time for a new challenge. So please..."

The Master gestured to the other inmates, "Is there anyone who wishes to face the young shape-shifter?" it didn't take long for one of them to step up.

"I'll do it."

Gar recognized that voice! He turned to check, and found his suspicion confirmed. It was Johnny!

"Excellent, Johnny Rancid!" said the Master. "Please, step forward and face your opponent."

Johnny did as he was told, and stared at Gar with a cocky smirk on his face. Just like Xavier, Gar felt a bad vibe from this guy. Which was ironic, seeing as how he was the guy who gave Gar a congratulations, as well as insight into this Hell-hole. Then again, he had never met Rancid before this.

"BEGIN!" the Master commanded.

In an instant, Johnny Rancid's appearance flashed from black, to blood red. His once long, greasy hair was now fully spiked. The tattoo's adorning his arms glowed bright, as well as his eyes. The only unchangeable portion of him were his black open-finger gloves, leather pants, and steel-toed boots.

Rancid clenched his fist into his hand, "Time to show you what being an animal is all about!"

With a roar, Johnny Rancid threw the first punch, which Gar was barely able to dodge as he stepped aside. Rancid threw another punch, and Gar ducked underneath it. Gar figured Rancid would throw another punch, so he was ready to dodge one more time. But before Rancid's left fist made contact, he decided to fake the boy out and deliver a right punch right to the stomach.

Gar clenched his stomach and rubbed it in hopes to make it better. A lot of good that did him, as Johnny continued with a stiff punch across the jaw, then another, and finished it by grabbing Gar's head and slamming it against his knee. The boy fell back flat, and lied there in pain. He could swear his jaw was broken right now.

The pain in his jaw didn't subside, either. Johnny Rancid now had his boot on Gar's head, pressing down on it hard. Gar tried pushing it off, but it was proving to be very difficult, and painful. The sound of Rancid laughing didn't help in the slightest, either.

"Come on, Gar! Where's that primal instinct!?"

Rancid continued to press down on Gar's head, and Gar continued trying to push him off. Every second he pushed, Rancid would press down harder. He needed to get away.

In a moment, Gar had vanished once again, just like his fight with Killer Moth. Rancid looked in every direction to find the boy, wondering exactly where he was. Or rather, what he was. He could be a fly for all he knew.

Rancid took one last look up, and was greeted by the sight of screaming flying squirrel. The morsel landed on Rancid's, temporarily blinding him, before scurrying around his gray-pale torso, tickling the biker into laughter.

"Hey... stop that!... Get of...!" the biker said between laughs. His wish came true, but not in the way he wanted. From a small flying squirrel, to a large kangaroo, Gar sent a flurry of punches to Rancid's face. Left, right, left, right, left, right, a hop on the tail, and bam! Johnny Rancid was sent crashing down on his back.

The other inmates cheered as Gar returned to his human form. The sound of cheering brought a smile to his face, and he couldn't help but start boasting... or rather dancing.

"Oh, yeah! Go, Garfield! Go, Garfield! Go, Garfield!"

The young boy was so overcome with excitement, that he never noticed Rancid getting back on his feet until he finally turned around. Johnny Rancid stared at Gar with hate in his eyes, and blood dripping from his mouth from the punches earlier. That brought Gar's excitement down. This wasn't going to be...

Gar's eyes immediately turned red. But not from primal instinct like Johnny wanted. But from the blood Johnny had spit in his face. Blinded by the thick fluid, Gar was unable to do anything at the moment, except get beaten down by the blood biker.

Rancid threw another punch to the gut, and then a running knee to the face. The impact of the knee sent Gar falling on his back. The inmates cheered for Johnny as he raised his arms high, but he wasn't ready for a victory yet. He had something else in mind. He held out his hands, and two flashes of red simultaneously lit up, revealing a curved, spiked blade in each of them.

The inmates cheered louder than before. Rancid knew what these guys wanted, and he was going to give it to them.

Gar's head was spinning from the last attack as he lied on the floor. He could barely make out what was in front of him. Everything was all blurry. It was just a matter of time before things became clear, and Gar only had a moment to react before Johnny's blade was about to cut him up. He rolled out of the way just in time for the blade to actually pierce the steel floor.

Gar sprang up, and quickly tried to dodge Johnny's blades as best as he could. It was proving to be harder than he thought. Johnny was fast, really fast. And his head was still reeling from the knee. But he had to be focused. He had to clear his head. He had to...

"AHH!"

Gar screamed in pain as a blade managed to slice his chest, just above the heart. He pressed his hand against the wound to stop the bleeding, wincing as it stung. He didn't have much time, though. Johnny was still going, and he had to keep dodging. It was only after the third swipe, did another cut make its way on gar's person. This time, it was his arm. It was small cut this time, thankfully. But that didn't make the situation any better.

"Come on, green-bean!" Johnny said smirking, "You've barely left a bruise on me! Granted, that kangaroo bit was pretty good, but you need to do better!" another swipe, and another cut to Gar's arm. A cut across the chest, and a slice at the leg. Gar once again screamed as he knelt down to cover the wound. But Johnny payed no sympathy towards him, and just pushed Gar to the floor with his boot against his head.

Gar watched through half-closed eyes as the inmates cheered for Johnny Rancid. They were just like the ones in the real arena. They didn't care who won or lost, they just wanted a show. But there was a difference between the arena, and The Crypt, he realized. Unlike the arena, The Crypt was a blood sport. There were no winners or losers, just killers and victims. They didn't care who won or lost, they just wanted to see someone die.

But that wasn't going to be him! No, Gar was _not _going to be a victim today! He needed to escape!

Johnny Rancid, once boasting to the crowd, turned at the sound of Gar's grunt. He watched the young boy try to push himself up, despite all the damage that had been done. And even though he hated to admit it, he had to admire the boy's strength.

But now it was time to end it.

Rancid walked over to Gar, grabbing a handful of his spikey hair and lifting him to his knees. A single smirk came across the blood biker's face.

"Gotta hand it to you, kid. You got guts." he pointed to Gar's stomach with one of his blades, "So, I guess I'll just have to tear them out."

Rancid reeled his arm back, aiming his blade directly for Gar's stomach. But before he could skewer the boy, Gar quickly transformed. This time, into a tiger, and like a steel trap, clenched his jaws tightly around the arm that was holding him up.

Johnny screamed in pain as he tried to pry away from the tiger's grip. Luckily, he did. But now blood was dripping from the wounds where the teeth dug in. Rancid furiously growled, but immediately gasped in shock as a new animal, a rhino, took charge.

The large beast collided with Johnny Rancid at full force, and the biker was sent crashing into one of the two large fire bowls set at opposite ends of the arena. Johnny crashed into the bowl, and the fire adorning it spread everywhere...

And engulfed Johnny.

Screams of pain and agony filled The Crypt as the inmates, and Gar, looked on in horror as the flaming carcass of Johnny Rancid writhed violently. Gar wanted to try and help, but was frozen in absolute horror. All he could do, was watch as the flames died out, and all that was left, was a burning crisp.

There was a moment of silence, and the inmates began to cheer once more.

"Your winner!" the Master announced.

Gar payed absolutely no attention to anyone. He was too preoccupied, horror-stricken, over what just happened. He couldn't believe it. Never in a million years did he think he could do such a thing! It wasn't on purpose, it was just an accident! No, no, this can't be right. This isn't right!

But no matter what Beast-Boy told himself... he couldn't hide this one dreadful fact.

He had just killed a man.

* * *

After the events that transpired a few minutes ago, Gar still couldn't motivate himself to get out of bed, not even to clean up his scars. He had been sitting there on the edge with his hands in his hair trying to deal with the fact that he did something he never thought he would. Gar's mind was a whirlwind of emotions; panic, happiness, fear. All these emotions took over the young-blood, so much so that he could feel his stomach churn. It didn't take long for him to run to the toilet and ultimately puke his guts out.

Once he retched the last bit of vomit from his insides, Gar turned the sink on. He cupped some water in both hands and took a sip of the liquid in hopes to wash the bad taste out of his mouth. He swished the water in his mouth left and right, spitting it out once he felt necessary. After relieving himself of any vile vomit, Gar looked at his broken reflection in the mirror.

He still couldn't believe what happened.

He could still smell Johnny Rancid's burning flesh, stinging his nostrils even though the fire had subsided just minutes ago. His screams of pain and agony as he writhed on the floor rang in Gar's head like a bell, showing no signs of leaving. Gar tried making the screams go away by pounding his head with his hand. But every hit just made the screams ring louder and louder, both Johnny's... and Gar's.

Hit, scream.

Hit, scream.

Hit, scream!

The screams were still there.

He heard his cell door open, and his attention was turned to someone he didn't expect.

The Master.

"You did well out there, Gar." he said, still smiling.

"I don't think so." Gar replied, solemnly.

"I know you do no approve of what transpired. But in this world, it is survival of the fittest. You win, or you die. You must not show mercy. You must not show regret. You must act as the animal, the beast, you truly are. Those are the rules of The Crypt."

"Then what about Killer Moth?" Gar questioned his first fight.

"Merely a test to see what you could do. It was quite entertaining. But your fight with Rancid... _that_ was impressive."

Somehow, Gar didn't find that very encouraging. But the Master didn't seem to care.

"You will continue to fight, if you wish to live. If you desire death... then so be it."

As the Master took his leave, Gar's mind rang with the words he had just been told. He sat down on the edge of his bed once more, taking a look at the gashes and cuts he had received. He thought about what the Master had said, about it being survival of the fittest. The closest thing he could think of at that time would be the animal kingdom. Predator, and prey. In the jungle, you're either the hunter, or the hunted. In The Crypt, however, it's either 'kill, or be killed.'

Killing someone had never before crossed Gar's mind. Not even with the H.I.V.E. Sure, he could turn into the biggest, strongest, fastest killers in the world, but he would never kill anyone with them. That is, until today. And no matter how much wanted to believe it was an accident, which it was, something inside him, told him it was necessary. And as much as it made feel awful, that part of him... actually liked it.

Gar closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair, trying to rid his mind of all those thoughts. He wasn't a killer. Not like Johnny. No, he wasn't an animal. He screamed in his mind, _I'm not an animal. I'm not an animal! I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!_

* * *

Over time, Gar's battles grew to be more... ferocious. Not just in opponents, but in finishes. One of his opponents, by the name of Punk Rocket, had put up quite a fight with his guitar, even going so far as to use it as a weapon in certain occasions. At one point, the pale white-haired, orange jump-suit wearing musician struck the shape-shifter across the head with his guitar.

Gar slowly picked himself, shaking his head to get rid of the buzzing. He had no idea where he was at the moment. It wasn't until he got a kick across the face, did he finally come back to his senses. He was also lucky enough to roll out of the way just in time before his head became a bloody stand for Punk Rocket's guitar. Now that Gar was able to stand, Punk Rocket took charge, ready to swing his guitar like a club. But Gar reacted quick, and actually managed to spit out whatever blood resided in his mouth, into Punk Rocket's face.

With the musician now blinded by the red, thick fluid, Gar decided to finish it. He transformed himself into a wolf, and immediately pounced on Punk Rocket, tearing away at his chest, blooding splatting everywhere as his claws scratched and his teeth maimed.

The inmates loved it.

Gar's next opponent was actually the fat man he saw Killer Moth beat-up when he first arrived. And let's just say, he's not so fat anymore. When you squeeze a man the size of Control Freak using massive gorilla arms, you're not going to get a pretty picture.

And then, there was Adonis.

Not only was this guy big and strong, due to the large red battlesuit he wore, he was also obnoxious. Every single time Gar was taken down, which was frequently, this guy would run his mouth off. A perfect example would be right now, after throwing Gar across the arena like a rag-doll. As the green elf lied there on the floor, Adonis, with his suit-muscles flexed, began to run his mouth.

"You think you can take down Adonis, wimp?" he held out his hand, "Bring it on."

Gar quickly picked himself up to his feet, "Dude, it is totally brunged... branged."

Ooh, bad grammar. That ought to scare him.

But apparently, it didn't. Adonis simply charged towards the young-blood. Gar did, as well, transforming into a wolf and pouncing towards Adonis' head. But that proved to be useless, as Adonis simply grabbed the wolf, and threw him across the other side of the arena. Once Gar managed to stand up again, he tried a trifecta of animals, in hopes to take down the armored muscle-head.

First, a charging bull. But Adonis simply grabbed the bull by the horns, and with little to no effort, spun him around and sent the bull flying to a nearby wall. Next on Gar's list, was a monkey. He tried to pounce, but was actually punched, not swatted, put punched away to another wall. Finally, Gar tried a tiger, and pounced one more time. But once again, Adonis truck Gar with both hands locked together, sending the tiger actually crashing into the crowd of inmates watching the fight out of their cells.

As Gar was piled on by the inmates he crashed into, Adonis taunted, and flexed, once again.

"What's the matter, wuss? Don't you know how to fight like a man?"

It was then, that something inside Gar seemed to... snap. Every ferocious thought he held in the back of his mind suddenly began to cloud his judgment, and build something inside of him. Something... beast-like.

"I'm not a man..." he growled, "I'm an ANIMAL!"

Every single inmate crowded around Gar was sent stumbling or flying away by Gar's massive gorilla strength. The large, angry ape looked at the inmates, and without thinking, grabbed the two nearest inmates, and actually threw them at Adonis.

The muscle-head merely swatted the inmates away like flies, but had barely any time to react as he was viciously rammed by a large, green rhino that sent him crashing to a wall. The assault only continued from there, with a bear now striking Adonis left and right with its claws, scratching and tearing away at the battlesuit, with no end seemingly in sight. Pieces of metal flew everywhere with each strike as Adonis' battlesuit continued to be torn apart.

Sparks flew until the battlesuit finally broke apart at the chest. All that was inside, was a young skin-and-bones thin man with dark hair and a red bodysuit inside. Adonis, tired and broken, fell to his knees and fell on his face in defeat.

It was another victory for Gar, but that didn't matter to him, as he stared at his defeated opponent with hateful eyes.

"Who's the tough guy, now?"

* * *

After Gar's battle with Adonis, he immediately retreated back to his cell. After washing his face with water, Gar stared at his broken reflection in the mirror. In a fit of rage, Gar punched the already broken mirror. Small shards of glass fell, not making a scratch on Gar's hand, thanks to his gloves. Cuts were the least of his worries, anyway. He didn't want to stay in this place anymore. He wanted to get out!

It was then he heard his cell door open again, and once again, the Master stood in place.

"Congratulations are in order, I believe. You are better than what I expected."

"Yeah, thanks." Gar replied, showing no care whatsoever as he stared back at the broken mirror.

"I have some news for you."

Gar narrowed his eyes at the Master's reflection. What kind of 'news'?

"It appears your friends are preparing for battle. They will be teaming together, in hopes to release you."

Gar's ears perked, "They are?"

"Yes. If they win, you shall be released."

Gar was about to fist-pump his excitement, but the Master wasn't done just yet.

"However... you, yourself, must face a similar challenge."

A similar challenge? "What do you mean?"

"If you defeat your next opponent, just like your friends, then I shall release you from The Crypt."

Gar's eyes widened, "What?! I have to face someone else?! WHY?!"

"It only seems fair that you should continue to fight for your freedom, as well."

Gar was about to lash out at the Master, but was instantly cut-off.

"Be ready. For tomorrow, your fate shall be determined."

With that, the Master left behind a very upset shape-shifter.

* * *

_The Headmistress stood in the elevator, Rachel and Kori beside her. She was on her way to meet with Brother Blood for an important issue. What that issue was, exactly, neither of the two girls knew. Once the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and the trio was surprised to see Richard and Cyborg standing in front of them._

_"What are you two doing here?" asked the Headmistress._

_"We needed to talk to Blood." Cyborg answered. "Dr. Light sent Gar to The Crypt, and we need to get him out."_

_The Headmistress raised an eyebrow in surprise, and curiosity._

_"The Crypt?" she repeated the name to see if she heard right._

_The boys nodded._

_"I see. Kori, Rachel. You may part with Richard and Cyborg. I have a little business to discuss with Brother Blood."_

_"Yes, Headmistress." only Kori was the one to say it, and she passed a worried glance to the silent Rachel._

_"Rachel?" the Headmistress questioned, looking over her shoulder. Almost instantly, Rachel replied back._

_"Yes, Headmistress."_

_"Good."_

_With that the Headmistress strolled past the boys and down the hall. She wanted to know the reasons behind Gar's sentence. Whatever it was, it had to be better than whatever she had planned to say before. She entered Blood's office, instantly asking the question._

_"What is this I hear about The Crypt?"_

_The sudden burst and question caught both Brother Blood and Dr. Light off-guard, but Blood was able to answer quickly after._

_"There was a sudden outburst between Gar and Xavier. Gar acted out using his powers, and now he is being punished."_

_"So you sent him to The Crypt?" the Headmistress asked, bluntly._

_Dr. Light responded simply, "It's the rules."_

_"And what did Cyborg and Richard have to say?"_

_Brother Blood replied, "They weren't, exactly, happy with situation. So, we remedied it."_

_Remedied it? "How?"_

_"If they can defeat their opponent at high noon tomorrow, then Gar will be released. Provided, he's not dead at that time." Blood had a tiny bit of humor in his voice. As if the thought of the three young teens dead brought happiness to him._

_"Have you decided on an opponent?" the Headmistress wondered._

_A smile formed across Brother Blood's face, a devilish smile._

_"Oh, yes. Yes, I do."_

It was just yesterday when Richard and Cyborg were given a chance to save their friend. Now, they were in the armory. Richard had to change into the same uniform he wore when he fought Xavier. When he saw it, Cyborg had to stifle a laugh, which made receive a death-glare from Richard.

"Sorry." Cyborg apologized, taking a seat on a bench so he could lean forward on his knees.

Richard searched the armory and inspected the weapons of his choice. As he was doing this, Cyborg decided to ask him a question.

"Hey Richard. Be honest. Do you think we're gonna be able to get Gar out?"

Richard could hear the uncertainty in Cyborg's voice. And to be honest, he couldn't blame him. They only had one chance to save Gar, and they had to do it by facing an opponent they didn't even know! To be honest, Richard himself wasn't entirely sure if it was possible. He decided against the typical "we'll beat him" speech, and spoke his mind, starting with a sigh.

"I don't know, Victor. I mean, we don't even know if Gar's still alive." he turned his attention tot he cybernetic teen, "We don't even know who we're facing!" he ran a gloved hand through his spiked hair, "I'm not going to lie, and say we have a chance. But I will say this..." he slowly stepped toward Cyborg, pointing to the door that would lead them to the arena.

"We will go out there, and no matter who stands in our way, whether we live or die today, we are saving Gar."

Cyborg looked at Richard's outstretched hand, prompting a bro hand-shake. A new-found confidence rose in the cybernetic teen. He could feel the confidence rising every second, as if he knew Gar was going to be safe, no matter what their outcome may be. A smile formed, and Cyborg locked his hand with Richard's as he stood up.

"You're right. Even if we do die out there, we'll make sure to bring whatever poor bastard we're facing with us!"

Richard smiled back, and returned to the assortment desk and wall for any remaining weapons he felt were needed. As he was finishing putting the weapons in his utility belt, he heard a door open. Coming in, was Dr. Light.

Great.

Richard and Cyborg payed no expense to even pretend to act like it was good to see him again. After all, he was the one who sent Gar to The Crypt in the first place. Dr. Light could sense the hatred from the two teens, and whether he ignored them, or just didn't care, he proceeded to speak to them.

"You both know what's at stake here, don't you?"

"Yeah." Cyborg said bluntly, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, same with Richard.

"Blood just better keep his word, and you better make sure he does." Richard warned the overseer.

Dr. Light nodded, "But of course. Now, go out there." he pointed to the door that led to the arena.

Cyborg and Richard looked back at the door, then exchanged glances at each other. Though they didn't say anything, they knew they were both ready. They headed for the door, hearing the roar of the crowd just waiting for the inevitable battle. The two pushed both doors wide open, using their arms to shield their eyes from the sun's bright light as they walked out to the arena.

Soon enough, they were able to see, taking in the sights of the overwhelming crowd. Surprisingly, there was a mixed reaction of cheers and boos. They figured the cheers were for Cyborg, seeing as how he defeated Cinderblock, and the boos were for Richard. Well, what can you expect from surrendering in your first one-on-one battle?

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Brother Blood spoke from his balcony, while the Headmistress sat in her throne with Kori and Rachel standing at the doorway, as usual.

"Yesterday, a prisoner was sent to The Crypt for his unruly behavior!"

The crowd cheered, not surprising to either Cyborg or Richard.

"But today, that prisoner has a chance to escape The Crypt! With help from his two best friends: Cyborg..."

The crowd roared for the cybernetic teen...

"...And Richard Grayson."

And booed the young millionaire.

But neither of them cared. They weren't fighting for these people. They were fighting for their friend.

"And today, these two Titans shall fight alongside each other, in a battle to determine the fate of young Gar! Ladies and gentlemen of Steel City..."

As the introduction began, the doors on the opposite side of the arena began to open.

"Allow me to introduce their opponent..."

Footsteps could be heard throughout the arena. But they weren't just loud, they sounded kind of... squishy?

The footsteps drew closer and closer, and so could the being causing them. At the mere sight of this... thing, everybody gasped in disgust and awe. This monster of hideous. Not only was it large, but it was made out of some... disgusting, purple fluid with two green eyes. It looked like it could be human, but yet... it couldn't be. There was no flesh, only...

"Plasmus!"

And then came the ear-shattering screech.

* * *

Gar had been ordered to the arena by the Master himself, a guard escorting him once again. Gar had little, to no time, to clean out the cuts given to him from his last few battles, so his body was riddled with gashes and torn clothes. He was thankful the gashes weren't deep, but it still stung at times.

Gar stood on his side of the arena, facing the Master as the rest of the inmates stayed in their cells.

"Today, Gar has a special opportunity. Just as his friends are fighting for his freedom, Gar shall fight for his, as well. But seeing as how this is a special occasion, it requires a special opponent."

Gar's attention was taken away by the sight of a large hole appearing next to him. At first, he was confused. But that confusion quickly turned to worry as he could hear something rising from below. It sounded like... snarling?

Gar's heart instantly sunk to his stomach as he finally got a look at who, or rather what, his opponent really was.

Its eyes were nothing but pools of red, filled with a sense of rage and hunger as it glared through the elongated skull-helm it wore over its face, while a long mane of hair traveled all the way down its back. Its horns were sharp, standing straight up like two spears, ready to stake their victim. The sharp teeth it showed was riddled with saliva, dripping down its chin, wetting the brown tuft of hair underneath before dropping to the floor in small puddles. Its body was massive, intimidating on all levels, towering over the green elf like a giant. But what scared Gar the most, was the bones. Not only did it wear a skull as a helmet, but it wore other pieces, like some sort of armor! With blood still on it! It even had a necklace... made out of skulls.

Gar was so overtaken with fear, he couldn't even hear the Master announce the name of this monster.

"Wildebeest!"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Plasmus, and Wildebeest. Things are not looking up for our favorite heroes.

I wanted make Wildebeest seem scary. I got the inspiration from the comic version of him, but replaced the armor with bone, as I think it fit the mood for The Crypt's most dangerous inmate.

. /_

Hope to see what you guys think about it! And trust me, things will be awesome in the next chapter. Two battles at the same time! :D

I hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.


	11. Unleashed

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen! I'm happy to see you guys continue to love the story. I'm also happy to see a few new readers!

_Rider of the Winds,_ and _LunarLilies,_ thank you very much for your reviews! :)

And now... it's time for Gar's OFFICIAL moment of glory. Will he win? Will Richard and Cyborg save their friend? Read to find out!

I hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

The crowd roared as the three combatants stared each other down.

It was two against one.

Cyborg and Richard vs Plasmus, for a chance to save Gar.

This was the only chance they had to save their friend, and whether they would live or die , they would make sure to bring this giant pile of goo with them.

"BEGIN!" Blood commanded, and the battle began.

Plasmus gave another screech before shooting his arm out, extending like a beam. Both Richard and Cyborg dodged the attack, jumping to opposite sides. The two teens ran forward with a battle cry. Plasmus now began shooting out both his arms. The splotches fired like bullets, and after a few misses, one of them hit Richard, sticking him into place in a puddle of goo.

Cyborg continued his charge. As soon as he was close, the metallic teen jumped, his fist clocked back, roaring another battle cry. He had hoped he would do some damage to Plasmus, but that proved to fail. Once Cyborg threw the punch, his fist was then stuck to the monsters abdomen like glue. No matter how many times he tried to break free, it wouldn't budge, not until Plasmus decided to grab Cyborg in his hand, rip him out of his abdomen, and throw him across the arena like a rag-doll.

With one Titan down, Plasmus returned his attention back to Richard, who managed to break free from his sticky situation. With the boy in sight, Plasmus fired his arm like a beam. But this time, Richard was prepared. At the moment Plasmus attacked, Richard threw a disk. The disk struck Plasmus' arm, and the entire length was encased in ice.

Richard gave a surprised smile, it actually worked! Plasmus, on the other hand, wasn't so happy. He looked through his frozen arm, seeing multiple copies of Richard running towards him with great haste. But he wasn't about to let the boy get the better of him. With his frozen arm torqued back, Plasmus swung the frozen beam like a bat. The arm struck Richard with such force, that he was sent crashing into the arena wall as the ice broke into pieces, freeing Plasmus' arm, and leaving the young billionaire prone in a crater.

* * *

Wildebeest roared as he charged.

Gar, thinking quickly, transformed himself into a bat to escape a skewering from Wildebeest's horns. However, he could only fly up so far before he felt a giant hand grip his body, and then slam him to the ground. He transformed back into his human-form, but was greeted with a hard kick to the stomach. The pain didn't stop there, however, as Wildebeest picked the young man up by his hair, holding up a foot off the ground, and proceeded to punch Gar in the stomach again and again, a total 5 times, before tossing him across the arena like a child.

Gar felt the wind get knocked out of him with each punch, and now it was very difficult to breath. He groaned and moaned in agony as he slowly tried picking himself up, only to receive another kick to the stomach that made him hop on his back. Wildebeest stalked over Gar's body like a predator, just waiting for the right moment to strike again. When he saw Gar trying to sit up, he punched him in the face. When Gar tried to turn on his side, Wildebeest kicked him in the back.

Wildbeest picked Gar up from the ground by the back of his neck. He stood in the middle of the arena, facing all the inmates that were watching from their cell's, and hoisted Gar up like a trophy. A beaten, bloodied trophy. The inmates cheered for the blood and mayhem. It was what they thrived off of. And Gar was the spoils for their enjoyment.

But their enjoyment wouldn't last long, however. As Wildebeest was busy catering to the crowd, it gave Gar a perfect opportunity to catch a breathe, and regain whatever strength he could. The young shape-shifter quickly transformed himself into a gorilla, catching Wildebeest off-guard. After giving off a rage-filled roar, Gar went on the attack, smashing both his fists to the ground after Wildebeest dodged them.

Wildebeest roared, charging ahead once again. His chances of attack were instantly shot, as Gar gripped the beast's horns with both hands, and gave him a taste of his own medicine, throwing Wildebeest across the arena like a rag-doll. After Wildebeest stood back up, he was instantly met with a charging bull.

* * *

After managing to stand back up on his feet, Cyborg went on the attack on Plasmus. He charged forward at great haste, dodging every splotch of goo thrown at him by this disgusting monster. He continued to run until he was just close enough to power-slide underneath PLasmus' legs, but not before cutting them in-half with a pair of chainsaws extending from his arms.

"Boo-yah!" he shouted in excitement, only to then stare on in confusion, "Huh?"

What puzzled the metallic teen was just as he thought he brought the monster down, Plasmus almost instantly regenerated his legs back.

"Oh, man!" Cyborg groaned, only to be struck by a splotch of goo instantly after.

Richard's body screamed in pain as he slowly crawled out from the crater embedded into the wall by Plasmus. As soon as he stood up, he fell to his hands and knees. His body was telling him not to move on, but he knew that if he didn't keep going, Gar would never be released from The Crypt. He wasn't about to let that happen.

Richard slowly stood back up, reaching into his utility belt for anything that would help.

A freeze-disk. Perfect!

An idea suddenly came to Richard, and he set his eyes on Cyborg, who was breaking free from his sticky prison.

"Cyborg!" Richard called out as he ran to Cyborg's location, "Fire a missile on my mark, I have a plan!"

Whatever this plan was, Cyborg hoped it would work.

"Gotcha!" he responded, opening up his shoulders to reveal six ready-to-fire missiles.

Richard ran towards Plasmus with a battle cry, whipping out his bo-staff with one hand while holding a freeze-disk in the other. Plasmus tried throwing splotches of goo, but the young billionaire was too quick to dodge, very thankful he was athletic. He drew closer and closer to Plasmus, and once he was close enough, threw his staff like a spear. The metal object struck Plasmus in the abdomen, which didn't seem to do anything to hurt him.

That was good.

With the staff half-embedded into Plasmus, Richard used the weapon as leverage to jump off, and stare face-to-face with the disgusting creature. It was only for a moment, though, before Richard threw the freeze-disk right between the eyes of Plasmus, which encased his head in a block of ice.

Richard landed on his feet, and looked back across the arena, "Cyborg, now!"

At the sound of the command, Cyborg fired a rocket. The projectile flew at great speed, and once its target was hit, Plasmus' head was reduced to a tub of ice-cubes, its still ectoplasmic body began to melt, dissipating into a puddle of its own this time. But once the substance was nearly gone, another sight made itself known Richard and Cyborg in a puzzling way.

Underneath the plasma form that was Plasmus, there was a man. A sleeping man, in black trunks. How could someone like this turn into something...

LIKE THAT!

Just as quickly as Plasmus melted, the man opened his eyes, and the monster took form again.

* * *

Gar was elated to know have the upper-hand. A few claw scratches from a bear, a tackle from a raging bull, and a take-down from an angry gorilla, and Wildebeest was actually breaking a sweat. The beast was now panting, wiping off the trickle of blood from his mouth as he stared into the eyes of the rhino ready to gore him. Gar prepared himself, wiped his right hind-foot three times, and charged forward with nothing on his mind, but the thought of winning.

Wildebeest prepared himself, and took the brunt of the horn to his face as his body held off the charging rhino after skidding back a few feet. A large gash sliced through the skull mask Wildebeest wore over the right eye, and his chest-plate armor was cracked. He had no idea this boy could be this powerful. He was even having trouble trying to hold the rhino off right now!

Things only got worse for Wildebeest once he was smashed into the wall. Every time it seemed like Gar was standing back, he would smash into him again. And again. And again. And again. Finally Gar stopped, but the damage had been done.

The bone armor-plating shattered around the beaten Wildebeest, revealing the beast underneath that was decorated with scars all over his body. All the years of fighting in the arena, and The Crypt, had taken a toll. Whether it was for better, or worse, Gar didn't know. Nor did he care at the moment. All he cared about right now, was that he was safe for now, and started show-boating to the inmates in celebration.

Unbeknownst to Gar, his celebration was going to be cut short. Now rested and angry, Wildebeest's eyes shot open, blood-rage being the only thing fueling his anger now.

The second Gar turned around to face Wildebeest in the midst of his celebration, he was immediately tackled to the ground. He quickly transformed into a gorilla, hoping to outmatch the beast, but it proved futile. The beating he took earlier was still taking its toll on him, and it only got worse. Struggling to push the beast off was proving to be useless, and he was already weak enough. Gar was beginning to grow tired and slow. Wildebeest saw his weakened state...

And bit down on Gar's shoulder.

The green gorilla screamed in pain as Wildebeest's sharp teeth dug into his skin like a bear trap, blood began to flow from the wound and stain Wildebeest's teeth. Gar tried punching away at Wildebeest's head, but his weakened state, and current pain, only made him throw firm strikes that seemed to be doing little damage.

After what seemed like an eternity to Gar, Wildebeest finally stopped, standing up look over his beaten opponent once more. Gar had transformed back to human, and was now writhing in pain as he clutched his shoulder where the now predatory smiling Wildebeest had bit him.

Whether it was out of desperation, or horrifying fear, using only his good arm, Gar actually tried to crawl away from Wildebeest. He felt like he needed to get away as far as possible. He didn't care who thought of him as a wimp, he needed to escape. But he could only get so far, before he felt a large hand grip his ankle, and with sheer strength, lift him off the floor to throw him across the arena, and into a wall, where a large crater now took place as the pieces of rubble fell and buried the beaten shape-shifter underneath.

There was another predatory smile on Wildebeest's face. He felt victorious. Another prey, another kill. But this one presented a challenge, and that, in his mind, made his victory all the better.

As he lied there underneath the rubble, blood pouring from his gashes and wounds, his body broken to unimaginable pain, and the echoing of the crowd ringing in his ears, Gar could only think about one thing: Rachel.

He thought about her at that moment, and how she would react to his loss. He imagined her heartbroken. He imagined tears in her eyes, crying as she fell to her knees, unable to cope with his tragedy. It broke his heart, as well. He would never see her again. He would never feel that connection he felt with her when he first arrived. He would never be able to see her beautiful face ever again.

Then his thoughts drifted to Xavier. His words, no matter how much he tried blocking them out, still rang in his mind.

_"And when I was done with my thanks, she made sure to give me her... appreciation."_

The blood began to boil inside him again as those words kept repeating themselves over and over again like million buzzing bees swarming around him.

_"In this world, it is survival of the fittest. You win, or you die. You must not show mercy. You must not show regret. You must act as the animal, the beast, you truly are."_

_The beast...  
_

_The beast...  
_

_The beast..._

'Beast.'

That was the word that struck Gar. That was the word that awoken him.

And that was the word that changed him.

Wildebeest continued celebrating his victory, showing no attention to the pile of rubble that was beginning to rise and fall. It only took a moment for Wildebeest to turn around, and once he did, he was met, not with a gorilla. Not with a lion. Not with a dinosaur...

But with a Beast.

Wildebeest, as well as the rest of the inmates including the Master, were frozen in shock and awe at the monster before them. It was like a werewolf, both in size, and appearance. Even its roar, echoing through The Crypt, was enough to shrink the inmates down in their cells in fear.

But Wildebeest wasn't afraid. Not by a long shot. No, he welcomed this new challenge. He quickly charged forward without hesitation, positioning his horns in front like spears.

But the Beast was ready. Once Wildebeest got close, the Beast gripped both horns in its hands, and with one pull, ripped them off Wildebeest's head like a twig. Wildebeest cried out in pain as he fell to both knees, staring at the giant feet of the Beast standing before him.

After discarding the horns, the Beast gripped Wildebeest's mane of hair in its massive hands, and pulled his head up to look into his eyes. The Beast could see pain written all over Wildebeest's face, but it didn't care, and just simply roared in his face. And then, with claws drawn out, the Beast cocked its arm back, and with one swift motion...

Gutted Wildebeest.

With blood dripping down its claws through the back, the Beast stared into Wildebeest's eyes, and watched as the life disappeared without a trace. The Beast retracted its claws, and let Wildebeest fall face-first to the ground as a corpse.

The Beast watched a puddle of blood grow underneath its fallen enemy. It was strange. It should have felt happy. It should have felt overjoyed to finally be free of this place. But, for some reason, it felt... unsatisfied.

And it knew why.

The Beast picked the dead Wildebeest up to his knees with its hand wrapped around his head. With its free hand, and claws drawn out, the Beast swung.

Every inmate stared in shock and horror. The H.I.V.E. guards. Even the Master.

Gar, back in human form, stood over the fallen Wildebeest. His face was stoic. His arm was raised high in the air. And in his hand...

Was Wildebeest's head.

The Master, at first overcome with shock, finally regain himself, and made the final announcement, that brought happiness to Gar's heart, even though he didn't show it.

"Your winner..." he said, "Beast-Boy!"

* * *

Both Cyborg and Richard were exhausted.

They had been fighting Plasmus for God-knows-how-long.

No matter what they threw at him, he would just keep coming back.

And now, things seemed to be getting worse. They were running out of breathe, and running out of ideas. They could only dodge and attack so many times before they themselves were attacked.

Hit after hit, after hit, after hit. Whatever the two Titans threw at Plasmus, Plasmus would throw back ten-fold. And now, both of them were tired, and beaten. They knelt down on one knee each, contemplating their next move. Plasmus stood across from the center of the arena, screeching that annoying screech.

"Richard..." Cyborg said between breaths, "what do we... do now?"

Richard waited a moment before answering, "I don't know. We can't seem to do anything to him. All I have left our my electric-disks. I don't see how that... wait a minute."

"What?" Cyborg asked.

"Can you rewire your arm into some sort of weapon?" Richard wondered.

"I can try."

"Good." Richard searched his utility belt and pulled out an electric-disk, handing it to Cyborg, "Use it on my mark."

Cyborg was about to question why, but decided against it. He nodded, "Gotcha. What are you..."

Before Cyborg had a chance to finish, Richard immediately took charge. Whether he ignored his calls, or couldn't hear them, Richard continued to run towards Plasmus, dodging every blob of ooze headed his way. He drew closer and closer to Plasmus, until finally, when he was just about close enough...

Dived straight into Plasmus' stomach, letting the ooze swallow him up.

"Richard!" Cyborg cried out in horror.

The crowd in the arena gasped in shock, Brother Blood and the Headmistress looked on in bewilderment, and Kori, trying so desperately to run in there and help, gasped in horror as tears began to well-up in her eyes.

And all Plasmus did, was screech once more.

Cyborg, overcome with anger and a desperate need to save his friend, threw the electric-disk Richard had given him. As the disk flew straight towards Plasmus, Cyborg unleashed a new fury onto him. In one motion, Cyborg's entire arm transformed. In its place, was what could best be described...

As a cannon.

Cyborg fired his cannon, and out shot a beam of blue and white. Just as quickly as the electric-disk struck Plasmus, so did the beam. Plasmus' screams echoed throughout the arena in a blinding flash of light. Everybody covered their eyes so as not be blinded. Once the flash was gone, they looked at the scene that was left before them.

The arena floor was covered in ooze. Everywhere, there was ooze. How they managed to not get covered in any of it, nobody knew. And they didn't care. The battle was over, and they had a victor. They crowd cheered and roared in celebration of the victory. But not everyone was celebrating...

"Richard!" Cyborg called out through the noise. "Richard!"

He looked everywhere for any sign of his friend, but there was nothing. Kori and Rachel tried looking for him from where they stood. There was nothing. All there was, was ooze. A thought then just occurred to Cyborg: did he kill Richard? No. No, no! He couldn't have! There was no way! There was no...

Wait... what was that? It looked like... a hand!

Cyborg quickly ran towards the hand, and could see a color. It was green!

"Richard!"

He quickly knelt down, and started pushing away the ooze. After the ooze was gone, Cyborg gasped. There was the sleeping man from before. But there was someone else, hidden underneath a cape. Cyborg turned him on his back. It was Richard! He smiled, and looked up at the balcony towards Kori and Rachel, who were just as elated to see him, as well.

"Richard! Richard!" Cyborg gently shook Richard back to consciousness. He groaned as his eyes fluttered open, trying to get his bearings of what just happened, and where he was. He looked at Cyborg with a dazed expression.

"Cyborg?" he said.

"Richard, you're alive!" Cyborg laughed as he helped his friend up to his feet, wiping the ooze off him.

"What happened?" Richard wondered.

"We won!" Cyborg said, enthusiastically.

It took Richard a moment to process it, "We won?"

Cyborg nodded, "Yeah! Gar's safe, man!"

Absolute joy filled Richard's heart. They had won! Gar was saved!

Brother Blood watched, as the two boys celebrated, with absolute awe.

"Did you see that?" he asked the Headmistress.

"I did. It appears Mr. Stone had a few more tricks up his sleeve."

Brother Blood leaned forward in his throne, lacing his hands together under his chin, deep in thought and absolute disbelief. A sonic cannon. He had no idea Cyborg held that kind of power. It was ingenious. It was unbelievable. It was astonishing. It was...

"Marvelous. Simply... marvelous."


	12. Taking Control(Testing Chapter)

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen!

Thanks to a certain _Midnight1336_, I'm back with a new chapter! :D

What exactly is going to happen, you ask?

Well, this more-so depends on you guys. I've decided this will be a 'testing' chapter. Sort of continue on with Beast-Boy's animalistic side in sort of a "Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde" kind of thing, like the Beast is trying to take control of him.

If you guys like how it is, I'll keep it. If you don't, tell me what you don't like, and I'll make sure to change it.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

The stipulation was simple: if they won, Gar would be released. If they lost, Gar would have to stay. They barely made it through the fight, and almost lost Richard. But thanks to Cyborg and his newly-created "Sonic Cannon," as he liked to call it, Plasmus was defeated. That just meant one thing...

Gar was free.

At least from The Crypt.

In any event, his friends were elated. They were standing in front of The Crypt entrance, underneath the arena, waiting for their friend to emerge. Even though it had only been just a few minutes, it felt as though it was taking forever. They were starting to get worried. And the dim lighting, along with a few blood spots on the wall, didn't exactly ease the mood.

"Do you think he made it?" Cyborg wondered.

"I hope so." Richard answered.

"I do hope our friend is well." said a worried Kori, her hands laced together, "This place is most unsettling."

"I'm sure he's fine." Rachel assured her friends, but in truth, she was worried herself. She couldn't explain why, but she was.

It was then the doors to The Crypt began to open. They watched the guards exit through first, not paying any attention to the four of them as they past through. After the guards left, Gar finally appeared.

"Gar!" Richard called out excitedly.

They were about to run and hug Gar to celebrate his release, but something stopped them. Their smiles disappeared into questionable expressions. Gar exited The Crypt, but there was no smile, no cheerful disposition, just a frown and cold demeanor. He didn't even seem to notice the others as he walked past them. That, or he just didn't care.

"Uh, Gar?" Richard spoke.

"You okay?" Cyborg asked.

Gar payed no mind to them as he walked through.

"Have any good freak-outs lately?" Rachel asked.

That made Gar stop, and turn back to come face-to-face with Rachel.

"I just got sick of being pushed around."

With that, Gar silently stormed off from his friends, leaving them in a mix of confusion, and worry.

* * *

Brother Blood sat in his swivel chair, an irritated look on his face. He stared across the desk at Gar, who looked rather uninterested in being in Blood's office. He knew why he was here, too. Apparently, the Master from The Crypt spoke to the guards of what happened before releasing Gar. In turn, the guards told Brother Blood.

And now, here they were, face-to-face.

"I have heard stories of your fight in The Crypt, Gar. Or is it Beast-Boy now? I have to say, I like that very much."

Gar, or Beast-Boy, stood there with his arms crossed, replying flatly, "Whatever."

"And might I say, I have heard many tales from The Crypt, but none as great as yours!" Blood stood up from his chair, arms raised in the air, "Setting people on fire! Crushing them with your bare hands! Even severing Wildebeest's head! It's marvelous!"

"I did what I had to do."

Blood placed his hands on his desk, "But I agree! The Crypt is filled with some of the worst prisoner's I've had. It was about time someone took them out." he then smiled, "And I look forward to seeing it for myself."

Beast-Boy's eyes furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"I have already planned for you to fight in the arena. Tonight, so you have enough rest."

A half-smile grew on Beast-Boy, "I can't wait."

Beast-Boy was about to walk out of the office, but Blood had one more thing in mind.

"Before you go." Beast-Boy looked turned around, and saw three stacks of money sitting on the desk. "Claim your reward. Both are for you and your friends. It may not be enough for your freedom just yet, but I'm sure you will manage."

Beast-Boy walked over to the desk. He picked up the stack of money on the right. It wasn't like Cyborg's earlier winning, where it was just $10. No, this was an actual stack... in $5's. He counted them together, and it was $50. He averted his eyes to Blood.

"Thanks. I'll make sure they get them." he said, taking the other two stacks with him out the door.

Beast-Boy closed the door behind him, finally out of Brother Blood's sight. Finally, he was out of there.

Now... what to do with the money? he asked himself as he walked down the hall.

_Keep the money._

Beast-Boy stopped in his tracks once he heard someone spoke. It wasn't Rachel, it was too low, too... growling.

_Why should you share your wealth with the likes of them?_

There it was again! Beast-Boy looked in every direction to find the voice, but there was no-one there.

"Who's there?" he called out. There was no answer. He sighed, "I must be hearing things."

But just to be sure, he decided to go to the restroom to splash his face, get his head clear. After turning the water on, he cupped the water in his now bare hands and threw it against his face. He let the cold relaxing liquid wash away whatever paranoia he was having. What was that voice? he wondered. He turned the faucet off, and rested his hands on the granite counter, watching the water swirl down the drain like a whirlpool. He felt a little better now, no more voices again.

So far, so good.

But once he got a look of himself in the mirror, Beast-Boy immediately turned around. He thought he saw something. Something Beast-like? Smiling at him? No, no. That can't be. Now he's seeing things? Are you serious?

_They won their money in the arena, while you sat in a hospitable bed. It isn't fair, is it?_

There it was again! Who the hell was that!?

"Hello?" Beast-Boy called out again, and like before, there was no answer. Now, he was starting to get a little more paranoid.

It's probably Cyborg playing a trick on me, he thought bitterly.

"Cyborg, this isn't funny! Come out, now!" he received no answer. "Cyborg!" nothing but silen...

_Poor, poor Beast-Boy._

The voice spoke again!

Beast-Boy quickly turned around to look in the mirror... and what he saw... he couldn't believe.

It was the Beast.

_Your friends only think of themselves. While you lied there in that hospital bed, they decided to fight for their own freedom. While you were down there in The Crypt, suffering the way you were, they only cared about themselves! I gave you the strength to destroy your opponents. I gave you the means to persevere. Why should you share the wealth of those who betrayed you, when your freedom is just around the corner? _

He looked at the trio of money-stacks laying on the counter. One for him, one for Cyborg, and one for Richard. He did say he would give them to Cyborg and Richard... but why should he? While they were out fighting, he was in a hospital bed! Why should they get rewards for fighting in an arena, while he fought through Hell?! It wasn't fair!

_It isn't fair_, he thought. _I deserve this money! Not them!_

Beast-Boy clenched the money in his hands with anger. He wasn't going to let them take what _he_ deserved the most! He took each stack of money, and hid them inside his jacket pocket.

He wasn't about to let his freedom slip away.


	13. New Recruits

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen!

First, I would like to apologize about not updating as fast as I usually do. We hit a rough patch and just recently got over it. I've also had a serious case of writer's block, FanFiction's worst enemy! Which might explain why this chapter may or may not be as good as it usually is. And for that, I apologize.

But I hope you all enjoy it, anyway!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

Everything was dark.

She opened her eyes, seeing nothing but grey. Her head felt like it had just been hit with a hammer. The young, chocolate-skinned woman went to place her hands against her temples, but saw that they were chained together over the sleeves of her yellow/black striped button-up shirt. She looked at her feet to see if they were chained as well, but they weren't. She was also wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and tennis shoes.

"Hey. You ok?" a voice caught her attention.

She was now looking at two young men, about the same age as her. One was rather very handsome, especially with his tanned complexion and long, black hair. Not to mention his eyes, as dark as midnight. She couldn't help but stare at his athletically-built body, which definitely showed through his casual ocean blue slim-fit dress shirt and black pants and shoes.

The second one was quite handsome as well, though his steel blue eyes gave off a rather... unsettling vibe. His short, orange hair was ruffled, and he looked as though he had been through quite a fight, judging by the bruises on his arms, and the rips on his sleeveless red jacket. He was also wearing a pair of black pants and shoes, like they were. He didn't look all that interested in talking, though, with his arms crossed and one of his legs propped up while the other lied straight.

But despite how good-looking they were, she wasn't sure what to say. They may have looked nice... well, at least the one in blue did, but that's because he asked her if she was okay. Well, at least that was something.

"Yeah, I think so." she said, pushing her back up against the wall so she could sit. Her dark hair was styled into two puff-balls on both sides, acting like a cushion against the steel wall. "Where are we?"

"We're inside a H.I.V.E. prisoner's truck. No doubt taking us to the arena."

"The arena?"

"It's where meta-human's go to die." the red-head spoke, his voice full of anger.

That made her heart, and hair-puffs, fall.

"Don't mind Sir Depressed-a-lot, here. Just ignore him and it's like he's not even there. I'm Garth, by the way. This is Roy Harper."

"Karen. Karen Beecher."

Garth smiled, "Nice to meet you, Karen."

A split second after, Karen was scared out of her mind. Standing in front of her, appearing from out of nowhere, were two young boys. Twins, in fact. Both were red-heads, with short, bright orange hair, and green eyes. They both wore the same outfit; short, plain white t-shirts, with the sleeves and collars trimmed in red. Their pants were dark blue, and they were actually wearing running shoes the same colors as their shirts. The only way they could be told apart, was when they smiled. The one on the right had a gap between his two front teeth, while the one on the right seemed to have perfect teeth.

"Hola, señorita!" they both said in unison. "¿Cómo estás?"

Karen looked at the two boys in confusion, not knowing what they said aside from 'hello.' "Um... hi." she said, trying to be nice. She looked to Garth for guidance.

"Meet Mas, " he pointed to the boy on the left. "And Menos." then to the boy on the right.

"Mas y Menos, sí podemos!" the twins spoke in unison, which seemed to be a habit of theirs, Karen realized.

"They can run really fast, but only when they're touching." Garth explained. "And they only speak Spanish."

Karen looked at the two boys and smiled, "Hola." she greeted them, and they smiled. "So, what do you do?" she asked Garth.

"I can control water, as long as I'm near it."

Karen nodded in understanding, "How about you, Roy?"

Roy looked at Karen, "I use a bow and arrow."

A bow and arrow? Karen looked at the red-head with a raised eyebrow.

"Then how are you...?"

"I hate the H.I.V.E. Plain and simple." he clearly wasn't the conversational type. So Karen decided not to press the matter.

"So, what about you, Karen?" Garth asked. "What can you do?"

"Well, I can fly, thanks to my wings. I'd show them, but I'm afraid they're kind of... stuck. I can also change my size to that of a bumblebee, without it decreasing my speed and strength. I also carry around a pair of stingers I use to fight off the H.I.V.E. But after I was caught, they took them away." She looked toward the exit doors. It was then she noticed something surprising.

A girl sat close to the doors. She may have looked attractive in appearance, with her pink and purple sweater-vest and jeans and white tennis shoes, but her sadness greatly overshadowed that. The ponytail blonde sat with her knees brought up to her chin, with her arms chained resting on top, trying to hide the tears falling from her ocean blue eyes. But they didn't go unnoticed by the twins.

"Disculpe, señorita? ¿Qué tiene de malo?" Mas y Menos asked.

The young woman wiped the tears away from her eyes, not saying a word. Karen decided to try her hand. She crawled over and at right in front of her.

"Excuse me, miss? Are you okay?" she received no answer. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you if you don't talk to me. I understand you're upset about the H.I.V.E. taking you away and all, but..." before she could continue, Karen was interrupted.

"It's not that." the girl spoke, looking away. "It's my children. I'm worried about them."

"How many kids do you have?" Karen asked.

"Twenty."

Everyone looked at her with dinner-plate eyes.

"They're my students. I teach at a school for gifted children."

"Oh." everyone spoke unanimously. That made sense.

"You teach kids with powers?" Karen asked.

The girl nodded, "Yes. We were in the middle of class when the H.I.V.E. raided our school. My students wanted to fight back, but barely any of them could control their powers. When the H.I.V.E. reached our classroom, I offered myself in their place. I wasn't going to let them take away my children."

Karen then asked, "Wait. So, you're not a meta?"

The girl shook her head, "No. All human."

Karen was astonished. This young woman sacrificed herself for her students, even though she had no powers. She was just a regular, down-to-earth girl.

"Wow. So that's why you're here?"

The girl nodded, "Yes."

"Then what can we call you?" Garth asked.

The girl sniffed, wiping away the tears, "Sarah. Sarah Simms."

* * *

"What do you mean, you didn't get your money?" Blood asked.

"That's what I mean!" Cyborg replied. "We never got our money!"

"I don't understand. I gave your friend, Beast-Boy, the money to give to you."

"Wait." Riichard spoke. "You gave Gar the money?"

Blood nodded, "Correct."

Cyborg and Richard exchanged looks, and immediately took off in search for their friend. After searching the prison blocks for about half an hour, they decided to look for Gar in the mess hall. Sure enough, they did. He was wearing his old shirt and jacket.

"Gar!" they both called simultaneously, catching his attention. He was sitting at a table, with Kid Flash sitting across from him. They noticed that the two prisoners they fought when Gar was sent to The Crypt was sitting there, too.

"What's up?" Beast-Boy asked. He didn't look the least bit interested.

"We just spoke to Blood," said Richard. "He said he gave you the money we all won in our fights."

"Okay..." Beast-Boy droned on for them to continue.

Cyborg continued, "We never got our money." he crossed his arms, "Why is that?"

Gar shrugged and crossed his arms, "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Richard asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Like I said, I don't know! He gave me the money, and I guess I lost it somehow! I went to the bathroom afterwards. Maybe I flushed the money down the toilet or something! Who knows?" he raised his arms in the air.

"You really expect us to believe you flushed _money_ down the toilet?" Cyborg asked. How stupid did he think they looked?

Beast-Boy sighed, "Look, guys. I'd love to help you..." he stood up from the table, "But I'm hungry. So, I'm going to get something to eat before my match."

And with that, Beast-Boy walked over to the lunch-line. Cyborg and Richard gave him death glares, while Kid Flash and two other prisoners looked on in confusion.

"Hey, what's wrong with your friend there?" asked the young, African American man with fire-proof gloves.

"Not sure." Richard said. "But something bad's going to happen, I know it."

Just like every day, the food in the mess hall left a lot to be desired. Beast-Boy wasn't sure what half of the stuff was. But he didn't care. He needed to eat something before going out to fight.

"Well, well, well..."

That voice...

Beast-Boy immediately turned, and his eyes locked onto the one man he prayed to see again.

Xavier.

"So, you made it out, did you?" Xavier smirked, crossing his arms.

There was nothing Beast-Boy wanted to do more than rip this bastard apart. He still hadn't forgotten what Xavier said about Rachel. He could feel his anger rising... and the Beast speaking to him.

_"You have your chance, Beast-Boy. Kill him! Make him pay!"_

But he couldn't. He remembered what Kid Flash said about starting a fight in the prison. So, all he had to do was talk, and pray he didn't lose it.

"Yeah." he said, coolly. "Surprise, surprise."

"Gotta say, I'm impressed. Heard you 'unleashed the beast.'" Xavier put in air-quotes.

"So? What of it?"

"It just reminds me of a time I spent with a certain someone. God, it was amazing! You know who I'm talking about, right?" Xavier asked, slyly.

Beast-Boy knew exactly who it was Xavier was talking about, and every fiber of his being was screaming at him to attack this bastard. But again, he couldn't. Not just because he didn't want to get in trouble again, but because of the collar. How he wished he could just tear it off.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about."

Don't say it. Don't say it. Don't say it.

"Rachel."

That instantly set Beast-Boy off. Dropping his tray to the floor, he ran to Xavier. In a flash, he stood right in his face, and the two stared each other down, nothing but Beast-Boy's breathing being the only sound, as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch. Beast-Boy breathed through gritted teeth, while Xavier just smirked, almost as if he was taunting Beast-Boy into attacking him. And it was working.

"Both of you, separate now!" a voice shouted, followed by a trio of H.I.V.E. guard's showing up and pushing both prisoner's away.

"Get off me!" Beast-Boy swatted the guard's arms away, fixed his jacket, and left the mess hall in a huff.

* * *

It was then the truck stopped, and soon the doors opened, revealing two H.I.V.E. soldiers. It was also nighttime, they noticed.

"Get out." the soldier on the left demanded.

They did as they were told, leaving the truck one-by-one until they stood in a single-file line. It was a full moon out tonight.

"Girls come with us." the soldier on the right spoke.

Karen and Sarah exchanged worried glances with each other, then the boys. Why are they being taken away?

"Now!" the soldier's voice rose. Both girls quickly stepped away from the boys, and a third soldier appeared from behind the truck to meet with the second one. They took the girls by their arms, and escorted them away, while the first soldier shouted for the boys to walk. The boys walked in a straight line through the entrance of the arena, which they didn't get much time to marvel at. They continued through the entrance as the roar of the crowd continued to grow, until they made it to a large gate, where they could see a fight already taking place.

Two meta's were battling it out in the arena, and it looked like it was nearly over. One was already lying on the ground, his golden armor dented and broken, his helmet left cracked open a few feet away, revealing his bloodied face to the world. His opponent stood over him like a predator, without so much as a scratch on him. His armor was strange, colored half-pink/half-blue, with a helmet completely covering his entire face.

The pink/blue armored fighter reached down, and gripped the golden armored man's chest-plate, or rather, whatever it was on his chest. The pink/blue fighter ripped the object off, and inspected it. It was like a disk, gold with a white center. After a moment of inspection, the pink/blue fighter crushed the disk in his hand, letting the pieces fall to the floor. He then looked up at the balcony, waiting for Brother Blood's command. The Headmaster wasted no time in giving the thumbs-down.

With the command given, the pink/blue fighter reached into its belt, pulling out a disk, which became a shuriken with a push at the center. Once the two blades were out, the fighter wasted no time in striking the golden man's chest-plate with it. A slow beeping started, but the pink/blue fighter sauntered away from the golden man, keeping his eyes on Brother Blood. The beeping became faster and faster with every second, until a trio of beeps, and a scream from the golden man, ended the whole thing in an explosion of pink, blue, and red.

The crowd roared in excitement, while Garth, Roy, Mas y Menos looked on in horror. Was this what they were in store for?

"Your winner..." Brother Blood announced, "Saico-Tek!"

The crowd cheered once more. Garth gulped. A pair of H.I.V.E. soldiers dragged the golden man's charred body away from the arena, while Saico-Tek walked off to the gate across from the boys. Brother Blood began to speak again.

"And now, people of Steel City, it's time for the last match of the night!"

The gate began to open, letting the boys timidly walk out to the arena, mesmerized by the size of the crowd. They were booing them, which was no surprise. Spotlights were lit all around the arena.

"A new group of meta's have arrived..." as Blood continued his monologue, the boys noticed an elderly woman appearing from the doors behind him, with two young woman standing at the doorway. It was Karen and Sarah! Except they were dressed differently. Karen was now wearing a sleeveless mid-riff, striped in black and yellow, with a pair of tight, black spandex and high-heel boots, along with a pair of gold wrist gauntlets.

Sarah was changed completely. Her loose black crop-top and jean-skirt replaced her original, pink and purple get-up. Even her tennis shoes were replaced with a pair of high converse sneakers. She hated how she felt, so exposed to the world. A teacher was never meant to dress this way.

"...And tonight, we have a special treat for you all! Let me introduce to you..." Blood announced.

Across the arena, another gate began to open. And from the darkness, came...

"Beast-Boy!"

The crowd cheered for the young Titan as he sauntered over to the center of the arena, never taking his eyes off the four guys standing in front of him.

"And a special treat! Tonight, there shall be a third contestant!"

It was then a third gate began to open. All five boys looked at the gate, waiting to see who would come out.

"Ladies and gentlemen... I give you..."

A single man stepped out of the gate. He was very well-built, like a military man. He was clad in a black bodysuit, plated with yellow body armor with the H.I.V.E. symbol on his chest, a metal yellow helmet that only covered the top half of his face, leaving his mouth and lower jaw exposed. And finally, a hexagonal shield, with the H.I.V.E. symbol emblazoned on it.

"Private H.I.V.E.!" Blood announced, and the crowd roared in excitement.

Beast-Boy was not pleased. He thought this was supposed to be _his_ fight! Who does this guy think he is? He had no business being here!

"BEGIN!"

Everyone immediately went on the attack.

Beast-Boy, in cheetah form, went to chase after Mas y Menos, who instantly ran around the arena. Roy quickly took out a flurry of arrows, and fired them at Private H.I.V.E., which bounced off his shield like they were nothing.

"Gotta do better than that, boy!" said Private H.I.V.E.

Beast-Boy continued chasing the twins as fast as his legs could carry him. He was thankful for his cheetah legs, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with them. Unfortunately, his eyes were so fixed on the twins, that he never noticed Private H.I.V.E. until he crashed into him. Both bounced off the ground before finally coming to a halt.

"What was that?!" Private H.I.V.E. shouted, standing up.

"Dude, you were in my way!" Beast-Boy shouted back.

"I was in your way? Boy, you better get of mine before I take you out!" he then shoved Beast-Boy aside and charged towards the four other boys.

Unfortunately, Private H.I.V.E. had no idea something had awoken in Beast-Boy...

Private H.I.V.E. noticed the scared expressions on the prisoner's faces, and quickly realized that it wasn't him they were scared of. He slowly turned around to whatever they were looking at, and he instantly feared for his life. Beast-Boy was no longer here. Now...

It was the Beast.

The Beast roared, baring its sharp teeth. It no longer cared about the fight, or the four prisoners, it only cared about Private H.I.V.E. It jumped high in the air, closing in on Private H.I.V.E. The soldier barely had time to lift his shield to defend himself before the Beast came crashing down on him. He felt his arm break underneath the weight of the Beast, and he screamed in pain.

The Beast raised its arms high in the air, and with all its might, crushed the soldier beneath it.

It did it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

The crowd could only stare in horror at the sight they were witnessing. A puddle of blood began to form with every crushing blow. Brother Blood and the Headmistress couldn't keep their eyes off it, they were entranced. Karen, Sarah, Garth, Roy, and Mas y Menos were horror-struck, but couldn't look away.

Finally, it was over. But the result... was sickening. Private H.I.V.E.'s body was nothing but broken, almost like there was nothing but mulch coated in blood. The Beast's green fur was showered in red, even when it changed back into Beast-Boy. His eyes were cold and dead, like they were in The Crypt.

"Nobody pushes me around." he said. He didn't even wait for Blood to announce the winner, if there was one. He walked towards his gate, leaving drops of blood behind until the gate finally closed.

Blood, who had been sitting on the edge of his seat, leaned back in his chair, astonished.

"Did you see that?" he asked the Headmistress.

"I... I did." said the Headmistress, trying to wrap her head around what she just witnessed as two guards dragged whatever was left of Private H.I.V.E.'s remains out of the arena.

"First a Sonic Cannon, and now a Beast!" a mischievous smile crept upon Blood's lips, "Yes. That's perfect!"


	14. A New Challenge

**Author's Note:** Hello, ladies and gentlemen! :D

Wait, what is this? *GASP* A new "Titans: Rise" chapter? 0.0 Yes, after much, much, MUCH debating, whether to revamp the story or not, I just decided to continue on with what I have. I realized, if I were try and revamp it, it would simply be a lot of flip-flopping of scenes and chapters, not much of a difference, to be honest.

And so, without further adeu, I bring to you, a NEW chapter in the "Titans: Rise" story!

I hope you all enjoy it!

Your friend, Cody.

* * *

"You can't be serious!" The Headmistress objected. "You want that beast and his friends to fight together? After what he just did to one of our best soldiers?!"

"It's brilliant!" Blood replied.

"It's madness!"

Silence developed in Blood's office as the two Headmaster's stared each other down. The Headmistress was still in shock over what had transpired in the Arena, the brutal assault that Beast gave to the Private H.I.V.E. And now Brother Blood wants that same Beast to battle with his friends! Does he not know what could happen?!

If he did, he either didn't care, or he did, and just wanted to see them die. Blood turned his back on the Headmistress to look out the window, contemplating something the Headmistress wasn't sure of. He was silent as he stood, his hands behind his back. After a moment of silence, he spoke once again.

"Cyborg defeated Cinderblock in his first match, and Plasmus in his second. Beast-Boy destroyed everyone in his path in The Crypt, and the Private H.I.V.E. The only one who hasn't proved himself, is Richard."

That was true. Richard had surrendered in his fight against Red-X, and nearly killed himself in the fight against Plasmus.

"So?" the Headmistress wondered.

"We have yet to see Richard's true potential. He appears to work best with a team. If we were to send all three of them to the Arena, perhaps we could witness the true power of our newest Titans."

The Headmistress thought over what Blood had just said. His only wish, is to see their true potential at Richard's command? She remembered their victory when they first arrived, against the H.I.V.E. 5. They hadn't worked together, per say, but they were still victorious. Perhaps if they were to work together again, Richard's failure could be redeemed, in whatever leadership Brother Blood hopes he possessed. But there was still one question lingering...

"But who would be their opponent?"

A mischievous smile crept on Brother Blood's face.

* * *

Beast-Boy turned on the faucet, washing the blood off his hands before washing away what was on his face. He turned the faucet off and looked at himself in the mirror. What happened in the Arena still lingered in his mind, playing and replaying like a horror movie. The only thing that was making it worse, was the Beast's voice, echoing in his mind once again.

_The Private H.I.V.E. was a fool._

Beast-Boy shook his head violently to try and get rid of the voice, but it still lingered.

_He caused you your glory, your victory, your chance at freedom. You were right to destroy him._

Beast-Boy growled in anger, running his hands through his blood-coated hair. He looked at himself in the mirror again, it was a mess of green and red. He needed to get rid of the blood, so he turned on the faucet again, wet his hands, and ran them through his hair. Tears and drops of the red fluid fell from his hair and hands, mixing with the water as it swirled down the drain in a red spiral.

"Beast-Boy!"

He looked up at the mirror again, his hair spiked with water, and noticed Cyborg and Richard standing at the doorway to his cell in the reflection.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice showing that he really didn't want to talk.

"What the hell was that?!" Cyborg asked.

Beast-Boy turned swiftly to face his friends, "It was nothing."

"How can you say _that_ was nothing?" Richard shot back, pointing outward to nowhere.

"He got in my way!"

"You killed him!"

Beast-Boy marched over to Cyborg and Richard, looking at them straight in the eyes when he said, "Look, you guys don't know what I went through down there! This is who I am now! You don't like it? Tough!"

"So this is the new and improved Gar, huh?" Cyborg crossed his arms as Beast-Boy brushed past them to walk down the walkway. "What do you think Rachel will think about him?"

Beast-Boy stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned around, "What?" he asked in a say-that-again tone.

Cyborg replied, "Were you thinking about Rachel when you were down the Crypt, doing whatever you did to survive? Did you think about her when you destroyed that H.I.V.E. soldier? I bet you didn't. So what do you think Rachel will think of you now?"

Cyborg could see the anger building up inside his friend. He knew he was in dangerous territory, but he had to make Beast-Boy see the truth.

"Do you think she'll still want to be friends with you? Do you think she'll still want to see you? How do you know she isn't afraid of you now after what you just did? How can she feel like she can trust you?" he knew the next words he spoke would be crossing the line, but he knew he had to say it in order to get his Gar's mind straight, "How did you think she'll feel, if she cant trust you... with Red-X?"

That set Beast-Boy off immediately. With an animalistic roar, he charged at Cyborg. He couldn't transform because he had his collar, and so did Cyborg. But that didn't matter, as a single clothesline across the chest was enough to bring the green elf down, and stay down with a metal foot planted firmly on his chest, but not enough to choke him out.

"Listen to us, Gar!" said Richard, kneeling down to one knee. "Whatever's going on in that head of yours needs to stop!"

"I'm fine!" Beast-Boy rasped out, trying in vain to push Cyborg's foot off him.

"No, you're not! You're acting like an animal!"

"I am an animal!"

"No, you're a man! And unless you realize that..."

"Richard! Cyborg! Beast-Boy!" Dr. Light's voice broke Richard's. Cyborg lifted his foot off Beast-Boy, making him able to stand. They looked down at the prison floor below to see the Overseer, and were worried that they were to suffer consequences for fighting.

"To Brother Blood's office! Now!"

* * *

"You want us to WHAT?!" Cyborg exclaimed, with the same wide eyes that Richard and Beast-Boy had on.

Blood, however, remained calm. "I want the three of you to fight together in the Arena."

"You can't be serious?" Richard said.

"Oh, but I am." Blood smiled.

"I can't work with them!" Beast-Boy replied, pointing to his 'friends.'

"You will need to to face your opponent."

Richard asked, "Well, who's our opponent?"

Another mischievous smile grew on Blood's face, "That is a surprise. Now, get ready! Your fight starts at dawn!"

WHAT?! How can they prepare for a fight when they hate each other, and don't even know who they're going to be facing?!

"Well, don't just stand there! GO!"

The three prisoner's left Blood's office in silence, even as they walked down the hall. The tension between them made the walk to the elevator uncomfortable. Neither of them knew what to say. They entered the elevator, Richard pressed the bottom floor button, the doors closed, and the elevator began its descent. There, probably, would have been more silence between the three if Richard hadn't spoken first.

He sighed, "Okay, look. I know things aren't, exactly, good between us."

"What was your first clue?" Beast-Boy mumbled, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. If Richard cared about that statement, he didn't show it.

"But we need to work together on this. We don't even know who we're facing! How are we supposed to win if we can't work together?"

He didn't receive an answer, only an intense stare-down between Cyborg and Beast-Boy.

Richard sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Guys...if we don't work together, how are we going to get out of here?"

At first, he thought he wasn't going to get an answer. Or anything, seeing as how intense Cyborg and Beast-Boy were looking at each other, as if they were just waiting to tear the other apart. But after a moment, Cyborg sighed.

"You're right, Richard. If we don't work together, we can't win. I'm in." he held up a fist, and was granted a fist-bump from the young billionaire. They both looked at Beast-Boy for his answer, and as if on cue, the elevator opened.

And Beast-Boy walked out.

* * *

Dawn broke upon Steel City, bathing the metropolis in gold as it peaked through the morning gray clouds. The three boys could already hear the Arena outside the armory. The roar of the crowd still gave them butterflies. Cyborg sat on a bench with his hands laced together under his chin, like he was in deep thought. Gar was standing next to him, garbed in his Arena uniform, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Richard, also in his Arena uniform, was finishing wrapping his utility belt around his waist, filled with weaponry he was used to.

"You guys ready?" he asked.

Cyborg stood up, "Almost. Just gotta make sure everything's in order."

Beast-Boy shrugged and nonchalantly replied, "Whatever."

That gave him two disappointed looks.

"You just finish whatever you need to do, Victor." Richard insisted. "Come on, Gar."

Both Richard and Gar exited through a door that would lead to a staircase. As they were leaving, Cyborg looked at his arm, scanning himself to make sure everything's accounted for. Everything was at 100%. Good. Now time to...

"Need to make sure your gas tank's all filled up and ready to go?"

That voice.

Cyborg turned to where the voice originated, and saw the one man he didn't want to see.

Xavier.

"What do you want?" Cyborg asked.

"What? Can't a guy just wish his fellow prisoner good luck?" Xavier casually walked over with that cocky grin on his face, like always.

"Not if that prisoner's a scumbag, like you."

Xavier jokingly hissed, "Ooh, that hurts." that smile never faded, "Look, I know what I've said before was wrong, but I only do that to keep up appearances. You have to hold your own in this prison, everyone knows that. You do, too. So, on behalf of every one of us here, I just want to say..." he held out his hand, "Good luck."

Cyborg was, of course, hesitant. He had no reason to trust Xavier, let alone shake his hand.

"I should beat you down, you know."

Xavier put up his hand in defense, and shook his head, "Hey, I don't blame you. Plenty of guys want to kill me, believe me. But seriously, I wanted to wish you good luck."

Cyborg looked into Xavier's gray eyes, trying to find any hint of mischief in them. Surprisingly, he couldn't. He looked down at his hand, then back at his face. After a moment of hesitation...he accepted the gesture.

"Thanks." he said, though with distrust still lingering.

"No problem, buddy." Xavier casually patted Cyborg's back, before quickly placing behind his own, "Now go on. You got a match to fight."

Cyborg still wasn't sure if what Xavier was doing was either genuine, or trickery. With each backward step he took, his eyes remained fixed on Xavier. He groped for the door handle and found it, opened the door, and with his eyes still watching, slowly closed it.

That was when a mischievous smile crept on Xavier's face.

* * *

Everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be. Thousands of people, ready to witness a fight. Richard, Cyborg, and Beast-Boy standing at the center of the Arena, preparing for battle. The Headmistress sitting next to Brother Blood, with Rachel and Kori standing at the doorway. And Brother Blood himself, sitting on his throne. Everything was ready, until...

"Mind if I join you?" both Headmaster's turned in their chairs to see Wintergreen standing at the doorway, posh as always in his gray suit.

"Wintergreen!" the Headmistress greeted him, "Please, take a seat."

The gray man did as was wished, taking a seat on the throne behind the Headmistress.

"May I ask why you are here?" Brother Blood asked, trying hard to hide his disappointment.

"Your Headmistress invited me to partake in the festivities. She explained to your proposal, and it interested me. But it wasn't until she told the opponent, did I become truly intrigued. Tell me..." he leaned over in his chair, "Is it true? Do you have him?"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I was just about to introduce him when you arrived."

"Ah." Wintergreen sat back in his chair, lacing his hands together over his lap, "Well then, carry on."

Blood nodded, "Thank you, Winter..."

"Hey, everybody!"

It was at that moment, that Blood's heart just stopped. Once it started a split second later, he had to turn around to make sure it was real. That shrill voice could only belong to one person.

Kitten.

Why?! Why is she here?! WHY?! Her stupid pink dress and stupid, shrill voice, just...!

"Kitten! How lovely it is to see you!" just play it cool, and smile. "Please, have a seat. I was just about to start the match."

"Why thank you, Brother Blood." Kitten took the seat next to Wintergreen. "I heard that there was going to be a huge match this morning, so I just had to show up!" she gasped, "Richie-poo! Oh, I can't believe he's fighting again!"

"I thought you wouldn't want to see him after his failure from before." the Headmistress pointed out.

Kitten waved her hand nonchalantly, "I can't stay mad at Richie-poo. Besides, I'm sure he'll win this time!"

"Very well, then." said Blood, standing from his throne. "If you'll excuse me, I have to start the match." he raised his arms to quiet the crowd, which eventually did quiet down. Once things were silent, Blood spoke. "Today, is a very day! Here, are three of our most extraordinary Titans, Cyborg, Beast-Boy, and Richard..." the crowd cheered and booed at once, they could probably guess which reaction belonged to them.

After the crowd silenced, Blood continued, "They are here, together, to face an enemy unlike any they have ever faced! An enemy, that cannot be beaten! An enemy that cannot be outmatched! An enemy...that cannot be broken."

It was then the doors across the Arena opened.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you..."

From the shadows of the entrance, out stepped a man. He looked to be Cyborg's height, and very well-built. His tanned muscles were visible, thanks to the black tank-top. His whole attire was as black as the night; boots, leather pants, fighting gloves, even a mask. The mask covered his entire face, aside from his eyes and mouth. It was decorated with a white, Lucha Libre design. The man looked intimidating enough, given his size and stature. But that immediately changed. Tied to his wrist, was a band of green viles, a single tube linked them together. The man gripped the tube, and stuck it to the back of masked head. That was when everything changed.

Like something out of a horror movie, the man's body began to grow. His entire body began to grow enormous in muscle, everything from his arms, his legs, his chest, this one man grew to the size of a monster, and as he towered above the three boys, Blood shouted his name for everyone to hear.

"BANE!"


End file.
